Etymologically
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collie

Etymology and origin of the English word collie

History

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈkɒli/ (UK); /ˈkɑli/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is of uncertain origin, originally Scots.[2][3][4] It is perhaps from dialectal colly, coaly “coal-black”, from Middle English col “coal” (see coal), the original colour of the breed being black.[2][5][3][6][4][7] Compare colley, a sheep with a black face and legs, and Middle English colfox.[3] Alternatively it may be from the proper name Colle, which Chaucer used for a dog,[5][3] or from the Scottish name Colin.[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

A Scottish shepherd's dog (before 1651 in Barnhart; c. 1651 in Merriam-Webster; 1650s in Etymonline).[5][6][3]

Semantic evolution

Collies were originally black, medium-sized shepherd's dogs bred in 17th-century Scotland,[7] later valued for their sagacity in herding sheep.[8] The Border collie (by 1894) was so called from being bred in the border region between Scotland and England.[3] Modern collies occur in rough-coated and smooth-coated varieties, often sable and white or black, tan and white.[6][9]

Timeline

  • about 1386 – Colle, a dog's name in Chaucer.[5][3]
  • c. 1651 – a sheepdog.[6][5]
  • 1793 – colley, a black-faced sheep.[3]
  • 1894 – Border collie.[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A dog of a large breed developed in Scotland for herding sheep, with long hair, erect ears and a long, narrow muzzle.

Word family

  • border collie
  • Bearded Collie
  • coal
  • sheepdog

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  6. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  7. ^ a b c Hendrickson, Robert (2008), The Facts on File Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins, 4th ed., New York: Facts on File
  8. ^ Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  9. ^ Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
Cite this entry

“Collie.” Etymologically, 10 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/collie. Accessed 10 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·