Doggy Words
Pooch |pōōch|
MEANING: A nondescript household dog, household fleabag
ORIGINS AND HISTORY: pooch is an early twentieth-century term, based on the idea that the household dog may be "stuffed" or overfed (just like things may be stuff into a "pouch" or "poached" eggs might look swollen and stuffed), with dire consequences for the dog's looks and overall health.
This also gives one explanation for the derivation of the word pug. Pug is now defined as "a small, compact dog," but originally it was a term meaning squat elf or hobgoblin alternately known as Pook or Puck.
Bow-Wow |bów-wów|
MEANING: A dog or doggie
ORIGINS AND HISTORY: This word was derived in 1576 straight from the vocabulary of a child, based on the sound of an average medium-pitched dog.
Dogs in France go "wa-wa," and dogs in Scandinavia go "how-how." There really is no accounting for the form in which languages other than English represent the sound of a dog's barking in words. Perhaps they are all deaf. Though even in English, high-pitched dogs may "yap," whereas low- pitched dogs may go "woof."
Mutt |mut|
MEANING: A mongrel, nondescript (allegedly canine) animal, pooch
ORIGINS AND HISTORY: Mutt is an abbreviation of a description of someone who is "mutton-headed" -- that is, sheep-brained, woolly-minded. There is no date cited for this word.
This is a rare example of a dog term being transferred to humans, and not the other way around.
Kennel |kénn'l|
MEANING: A plain box or cabin with a gable roof used as portable quarters for a dog; doghouse.
ORIGINS AND HISTORY: In 1066 the Norman French, led by William the Conquer, brought the practice of hunting with hounds to England. The place where they housed their dogs in their aristocratic castles was known simply as (something like) canaille. Canaille means "dog-pack," and of course the Anglo-Saxons, who were employed as servants converted the word to kennel. They regarded the meaning of the word as a term for the animals' living quarters rather than for the animals themselves.
Litter |líttər|
MEANING: A brood of pups; the puppies born all at the same time.
ORIGIN AND HISTORY: | 
