Evelyn, True Religion, I

239. retriever (re-trēʼvėr), n. 1. One who retrieves or recovers. Machiavel, the sole retriever of this antient prudence, is to his solid reason a beardle boy that has newly read Livy. J. Harrington , Oceana (ed. 1771), p. 49. 2. Specifically, a dog trained to seek and bring to hand game which a sportsman has shot, or a dog that takes readily to this kind of work. Retrievers are generally cro -bred, a large kind much in use being the progeny of the Newfoundland dog and the setter; a smaller kind is a cro between the spaniel and the terriers Almost any dog can be trained to retrieve; most pointers are so trained, the term is not the name of any particular breed.