corgi

Etymology

It is borrowed from Welsh corgi,^{[2][3][4][5][6]} a compound of cor (“dwarf”) and gi, the soft-mutated form of ci (“dog”), so literally "dwarf dog".^{[2][6][1][7][8]} Chambers gives the first element as corr.^[9] The Welsh word for "dog" is related to Cornish ki, Breton ki, Old Irish cú and Old English hund, the ancestor of hound,^[6][10][11] and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *ḱwṓ (“dog”).^[1][4][5] Barnhart derives cor from a form meaning "shrunken", from *(s)ker- (“to cut”).^[3][1] Word Origins notes that corgi is one of the few English words from Welsh, with coracle, flummery and probably flannel.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

A small short-legged dog of Welsh origin, with a fox-like head: 1896, in the journal Archaeologia.^[2][12] Barnhart and Merriam-Webster date the word to 1926,^[3][6] and Etymonline to 1921, defining it as a breed first kept in Wales for herding cattle.^[4]

Semantic evolution

The word passed into general English in the 1920s,^[13][14][15] and is often used in the fuller form Welsh corgi.^[15][12][5] Two breeds are now recognised, the Cardigan and the Pembroke.^[15][1]

Timeline

• 1896 – a small short-legged dog of Welsh origin.^[2] Barnhart and Merriam-Webster date it to 1926, Etymonline to 1921.^[3][6][4]

Meanings

Noun

1. A dog of either of two Welsh breeds, the Cardigan and the Pembroke, with a long body, short legs and a head like a fox's; also called a Welsh corgi.^{[15][6][12][5]}

Related words

• hound
• canine
• cynic

Usage notes

The usual plural is corgis; some breed authorities prefer the Welsh plural corgwn, which is rare in English.^[1] Chambers also lists CORGI, in capitals, as the abbreviation of the Council for Registered Gas Installers.^[9]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
6. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ a b Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
9. ^ a b The Chambers Dictionary (2014), 13th ed., Edinburgh: Chambers
10. ^ Gove, Philip Babcock, ed. (1961), Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam
11. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
12. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
13. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
14. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
15. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins