Etymology

spaniel

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Today it means: Any of various small to medium-sized breeds of gun dog having a broad muzzle, long, wavy fur and long ears that hang at the side of the head, bred for flushing and retrieving game. Full definition →

Middle English spaynol ← Old French espaigneul ← Old Occitan espaignol
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The story

  1. Vulgar Latin · derived from*Hispāniolus“Spanish”
  2. Old Occitan · derived fromespaignol
  3. Old French · derived fromespaigneul
  4. Middle English · inherited fromspaynol
  5. English todayspaniel

From Middle English spaynol, from Old French espaigneul (modern French épagneul), from Old Occitan espaignol, from Vulgar Latin *Hispāniolus (“Spanish”), from Hispānia (“Spain”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.