doggy

Etymology

The adjective is formed from English dog + -y, the suffix that forms adjectives;^[2][3][4] the OED compares doggish, horsy and fishy.^[2] Merriam-Webster gives the Middle English base as dogge (“dog”), with the adjective ending.^[4] The noun is formed from dog with the diminutive or pet-name suffix -y, also spelled -ie.^[2][3][4][5] The OED notes that a form doggi of about 1175 may be an earlier example of the adjective, though it may instead come from a form of Old English docga (“dog”).^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The adjective first meant having the bad qualities thought typical of a dog, malicious or contemptible: before 1450, in the later version of the Wycliffite Bible; this sense died out after 1582.^[2][3] The noun, a pet name for a dog, is first recorded in 1692.^[2][4]

Semantic evolution

After the early sense "spiteful, contemptible" lapsed, the adjective returned in the 19th century in neutral senses: of or like a dog (1852), and of a person, fond of dogs or knowing about them (1859).^[2][3][4] In late 19th-century slang it meant dashing or stylish (1885), now rare;^[2][6] from 1880 it was also used of debased Latin, after dog Latin.^[2] The noun, a pet name and now mainly a child's word for a dog,^[2][7] is dated to 1825 by Etymonline;^[5] the doggy bag for taking a restaurant meal's leftovers home is recorded by 1962.^[5] In coal mining in Staffordshire and Shropshire a doggy was the man employed by the butty to oversee the miners (1845, in Disraeli's Sybil),^[2][3][8] and in services' slang from 1909 an officer's servant.^[2][3] Green's slang dictionary records later senses, among them a hot dog in Australia (1949) and "lecherous" (1922).^[6]

Timeline

• before 1450 – adjective, malicious, spiteful, contemptible (obsolete after 1582).^[2][3]
• 1692 – noun, a pet name for a dog.^[2][4]
• 1845 – noun, in coal mining, an overseer employed by the butty.^[2]
• 1852 – adjective, of or like a dog.^[2]
• 1859 – adjective, of a person, fond of dogs.^[2][4]
• 1885 – adjective, in slang, dashing, stylish.^[2][6]
• 1909 – noun, in services' slang, an officer's servant.^[2]
• 1962 – doggy bag, a bag for taking leftovers home from a restaurant.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. A child's word or a pet name for a dog; a little dog.^[7][4][2]
2. (slang) An officer's servant or assistant.^[2][3]
3. (mining, dialect) A man employed by the butty to oversee the workers in a coal mine.^[2][3][8]

Adjective

1. Of, like or relating to a dog: a doggy smell in the car.^[7][4][2]
2. Fond of dogs, or interested in them: the doggy crowd at the park.^[7][4][2]
3. (slang, now rare) Dashing, stylish or smart.^[2][3][6]
4. (obsolete, before 1450–1582) Malicious or contemptible, like a dog.^[2][3]

Related words

• doggy bag
• dog
• doggish

Usage notes

In Suffolk dialect a doggy was also a snack or drink taken by harvesters between meals.^[8]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b c d Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
7. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
8. ^ a b c Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)