dog-ear

UK/ˈdɒɡɪə/US/ˈdɔɡˌɪ(ə)ɹ/US/ˈdɑɡ-/

noun

The folded corner of the page of a book or other publication, either due to having been read many times or intentionally as a sort of bookmark.

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Meanings

noundog-ear (plural dog-ears)

plural dog-ears · alternative dog ear · alternative dogear · alternative dog's-ear

  1. The folded corner of the page of a book or other publication, either due to having been read many times or intentionally as a sort of bookmark.
verbdog-ear (third-person singular simple present dog-ears, present participle dog-earing, simple past and past participle dog-eared)

present singular third person dog-ears · participle present dog-earing · participle past dog-eared · past dog-eared · alternative dog ear · alternative dogear

  1. transitiveTo fold (the corner of the page of a book or other publication).

    His eyes went to his book and stayed there long enough to finish a paragraph. He dog-eared it and put it down.

    1955 October 19, Rex Stout, Die Like a Dog, Three Witnesses, 94 Bantam, →ISBN, page 164

Origin

The noun is a variant of dog's-ear, from dog + -’s + ear, due to the similarity of their appearance to the folded ears of certain dogs. The verb is either: * directly from dog + ear; * a back-formation from dog-eared; or * a variant of dog's-ear (verb).

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Czech oslí ucho
  • oslí uchofolded corner of the page of a book or other publication
Danish æseløre
  • æselørefolded corner of the page of a book or other publication
Finnish hiirenkorva, koirankorva
  • hiirenkorvafolded corner of the page of a book or other publication
  • koirankorvafolded corner of the page of a book or other publication
  • taittaa hiirenkorvalleto fold (the corner of the page of a book or other publication)
  • taittaa sivun kulmato fold (the corner of the page of a book or other publication)
French corne, corner
  • cornefolded corner of the page of a book or other publication
  • cornerto fold (the corner of the page of a book or other publication)
German Eselsohr
  • Eselsohrfolded corner of the page of a book or other publication
Hungarian szamárfül, behajtja a sarkát
  • szamárfülfolded corner of the page of a book or other publication
  • behajtja a sarkátto fold (the corner of the page of a book or other publication)
  • szamárfület hajlít/csinálto fold (the corner of the page of a book or other publication)
  • szamárfülezto fold (the corner of the page of a book or other publication)
Italian orecchietta
  • orecchiettafolded corner of the page of a book or other publication
Japanese ドッグイア
  • ドッグイア (doggu ia)folded corner of the page of a book or other publication
Norwegian Bokmål eseløre
  • eselørefolded corner of the page of a book or other publication
Polish ośle ucho
  • ośle uchofolded corner of the page of a book or other publication
Portuguese orelha, fazer orelha
  • orelhafolded corner of the page of a book or other publication
  • fazer orelhato fold (the corner of the page of a book or other publication)
Slovak somárske uši
  • somárske ušifolded corner of the page of a book or other publication
Spanish doblez
  • doblezfolded corner of the page of a book or other publication
Swedish hundöra
  • hundörafolded corner of the page of a book or other publication
Tagalog luping
  • lupingfolded corner of the page of a book or other publication
Cite this entry
APA

dog-ear. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dog-ear

MLA

“dog-ear.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dog-ear. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “dog-ear,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dog-ear.

Source: dog-ear on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.