terrier

T1E1R1R1I1E1R1
US, UK/ˈtɛɹiə/Australia, New Zealand/ˈteɹiə/Scotland/ˈtɛɾe.əɾ/Wales/ˈtɛɾi.ə/

noun

A dog from a group of small, lively breeds, originally bred for the hunting of burrowing prey such as rats, rabbits, foxes, and even otters; this original function is reflected in some of their names (e.g. rat terrier).

OriginOld French chien terrier ← Medieval Latin terrarius ← Latin terra →
CommonScrabble 7
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Meanings

terrier1

nounterrier (plural terriers)

plural terriers · alternative tarrier

  1. A dog from a group of small, lively breeds, originally bred for the hunting of burrowing prey such as rats, rabbits, foxes, and even otters; this original function is reflected in some of their names (e.g. rat terrier).
  2. Someone displaying terrier-like qualities such as determined pursuit.

    One of the LNER dispatch staff is a terrier when it comes to masks, challenging anyone without them.

    2020 November 4, Paul Bigland, “At no point have I felt unsafe...”, in Rail, page 47

terrier2

nounterrier (plural terriers)

plural terriers

  1. historicallawA collection of acknowledgments of the vassals or tenants of a lordship, containing the rents and services they owed to the lord, etc.
  2. lawAn inventory (book or roll) in which the lands of private persons or corporations are described by their site, boundaries, number of acres, etc.; a terrar.

terrier3

nounterrier (plural terriers)

plural terriers

  1. An auger or borer.

Origin

terrier · noun

  1. Latinterra“earth”
  2. Medieval Latinterrarius“of earth”
  3. Old Frenchterrier“of earth”
  4. Old Frenchchien terrier“terrier dog”
  5. Englishterrier

Borrowed from Middle French, from Old French chien terrier (“terrier dog”), from chien (“dog”) + Old French terrier (“of earth”, adjective), from Medieval Latin terrarius (“of earth”), from Latin terra (“earth”).

More words from Old French, Medieval Latin, Latin

Full word history & related roots →

terrier · noun

  1. Latinterra“earth”
  2. Medieval Latinterrarius“of earth”
  3. Old Frenchterrier“of earth”
  4. Anglo-Normanterrier
  5. Englishterrier

Borrowed from Anglo-Norman terrier, from Old French terrier (“of earth”, adjective), from Medieval Latin terrarius (“of earth”), from Latin terra (“earth”).

More words from Anglo-Norman, Old French, Medieval Latin

Full word history & related roots →

terrier · noun

Compare Latin terō (“to rub, to rub away”), terebra (“a borer”).

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian териер
  • териер (terier)dog
Chinese Mandarin 㹴犬
  • 㹴犬 (gěngquǎn)dog
Czech teriér
  • teriérdog
Dutch terriër
  • terriërdog
Finnish terrieri
  • terrieridog
French terrier
  • terrierdog
German Terrier
  • Terrierdog
Hungarian terrier
  • terrierdog
Irish brocaire
  • brocairedog
Japanese テリア
  • テリア (teria)dog
Korean 테리어
  • 테리어 (terieo)dog
Lithuanian terjeras
  • terjerasdog
Malay anjing terrier
  • anjing terrierdog
Polish terier, terrier
  • terierdog
  • terrierdog
Portuguese terrier
  • terrierdog
Russian терье́р
  • терье́р (terʹjér)dog
Scottish Gaelic abhag
  • abhagdog
Vietnamese chó sục, chó đào đất
  • chó sụcdog
  • chó đào đấtdog
Welsh daeargi
  • daeargidog

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

retirerretrier
Cite this entry
APA

terrier. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/terrier

MLA

“terrier.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/terrier. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “terrier,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/terrier.

Source: terrier on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.