Etymo

hound

A dog, especially one used for hunting.

Played on · Day 10 · word 4 of 5

Before it meant that.

How hound reached English

oldest first
  1. Old English

    hund

    ‘dog’

  2. Middle English

    hǒund

    ‘an ordinary domesticated dog; a dog used in hunting or hawking’

  3. English

    hound

The story of hound

Hound descends from the older general English word for a dog. Its use narrowed toward hunting dogs while dog took over the broader everyday role. German Hund makes the earlier breadth particularly easy to recognise.

Sources

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