dog, doge, dogg, dogge

& a. [O. H. Ger. dog; Dut. dog; Sw. dogg =a mastiff; Dan. dogge; Icel. doggr; O. Fr. dogue.] A. As substantive: I. Ordinary Language: 1. Literally: IMG:content-0312.png:[graphic] (1) In the same sense as II. 1. (2) The flesh of the animal described under II. 1. "A viand which the hosts called mutton, but which the guests strongly suspected to be dog ."- Macaulay : Hist. Eng . , ch. iii. 2. Figuratively : (1) Used as a term of contempt, scorn, or reproach. "Another time you called me dog ." Shakesp.: Merchant of Venice , i. 3. (2) A gay young fellow; a "spark," a "brick." (3) A name given by mariners to a meteor seen, immediately above the horizon, generally before sunrise or after sunset; viewed as a certain prognostic of the approach of bad weather. If this be seen before sunrise, it is believed that (as they expre themselves) it will bark before night; if after sunset, that it will bark before morning; if while the sun is up, the prognostic is le attended to. But seamen are not fond of these meteors at any time, especially in winter. In summer they often prognosticate warm weather. ( Jamie son .) II. Technically : 1. Zool .: A well-known animal belonging to the genus Canis (q. v.). The Common Dog, Canis famil iaris , in all its numerous varieties is e entially a domestic animal, and as such has been in an's companion from remote periods; for there is reason to suppose that the bones of a canine animal found in the Danish Kitchen Middens, and consequently of Neolithic period, were those of a dog. "The dog," says Cuvier, " is the most useful conquest that man has made. The whole species is become our property; each individual is devoted to his master, adopts his manners, distinguishes and defends his property, and remains attached to him even unto death; and all this springs not from mere nece ity, but from a true friendship. The swiftne , the strength, and the highly developed power of smelling of the dog have made him a powerful ally of man against the other animals, and were perhaps nece ary to the establishment of society." It was 3. To put away or aside; to divert; to get rid of; formerly believed that all dogs were descended from "Make women fight to avert. To doff their dire distre es." Shakesp.: Macbeth , iv. 8. 4. To put off, to delay, to refer to a future time. "Every day thou doff'st me with some device."Shakesp.: Othello , iv. 2. ( Quarto .) B. Intransitive : a common ancestor, but the more careful researches made of late years have led to the conclusion that they have sprung from several different species of wolves and jackals. Well-marked varieties resembling those of to-day [BULL-DOG, GREYHOUND] were known to the ancients. Thus, a mastiff occurs on an A yrian monument; while on the Egyptian sculptures the prototypes of the greyhound, the Arab boarhound, with its tightly-curled tail, and *1. To put off or lay aside one's clothes; to un the short-legged turnspit are represented. Though dre . 2. To take off the hat as a mark of respect. "Until the grave churchwarden doff'd ." Tennyson: The Goose. dõffed, pa. par. or a. [DOFF, v.] doff-er, s. [Eng. doff; -er.] 1. Ord . Lang .: One who or that which doffs. 2. Carding: A comb or revolving card-covered cylinder in a carding-machine, which strips the fleece or sliver of fiber off the main card-wheel after the filaments have pa ed the series of smaller carding-rollers and the flat cards. It is usually a comb with very fine teeth, which penetrate slightly between the wire teeth of the card as the comb moves downward. ( Knight .) doff-ing, pr. par., a. & s. [DOFF, v.] A. & B. As pr. par. & particip. adj.: (See the verb.) C. As subst.: The act of putting off, or laying aside, as clothes, .