Etymology

running dog

Today it means: A lackey; a lapdog; an unprincipled person who helps or flatters other, more powerful and often evil people. Full definition →

Chinese 走狗
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The story

  1. Chinese · calque of走狗“running dog”
  2. English todayrunning dog

Calque of Chinese 走狗 (zǒugǒu, “running dog”) (see also 狗腿子 (gǒutuǐzi) and 狗腿 (gǒutuǐ)), used as an insult by the governments of the People's Republic of China and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (주구/走狗 (jugu)) against those supportive of the great imperialist powers, variously including Russia and the United States. Though earlier use of the figurative sense of Chinese 走狗 dates back at least to the 18th century.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.