Etymology

dogie

D2O1G2I1E1

Today it means: A motherless calf in a range herd of cattle; a calf separated from its cow. Full definition →

First used 19th c.
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The story

Unknown. Possibly an abbreviation of dough-guts, the pot bellied appearance of a malnourished calf. Possibly the transliteration of the slang word dobie/dobe/doby, pejoratively meaning inferior. Since dogie and dobie in reference to an orphaned calf both appeared in print around the same time (1880-1888), it is possible that dogie is the original and dobie is the transliteration.

First known use, by meaning

  • from 19th c. A motherless calf in a range herd of cattle; a calf separated from its cow.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.