collie English · revision 765

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈkɒli/ ''(UK)''; /ˈkɑli/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is of uncertain origin, originally Scots.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) It is perhaps from dialectal ''colly'', ''coaly'' “coal-black”, from Middle English ''col'' “coal” (see [[coal]]), the original colour of the breed being black.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(Hoad 1986)^(Hendrickson 2008) Compare ''colley'', a sheep with a black face and legs, and Middle English ''colfox''.^(Etymonline) Alternatively it may be from the proper name ''Colle'', which Chaucer used for a dog,^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) or from the Scottish name ''Colin''.^(Hendrickson 2008)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A Scottish shepherd's dog (before 1651 in Barnhart; c. 1651 in Merriam-Webster; 1650s in Etymonline).^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Collies were originally black, medium-sized shepherd's dogs bred in 17th-century Scotland,^(Hendrickson 2008) later valued for their sagacity in herding sheep.^(OED 1989) The ''Border collie'' (by 1894) was so called from being bred in the border region between Scotland and England.^(Etymonline) Modern collies occur in rough-coated and smooth-coated varieties, often sable and white or black, tan and white.^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * about 1386 – ''Colle'', a dog's name in Chaucer.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1651 – a sheepdog.^(MW Collegiate)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1793 – ''colley'', a black-faced sheep.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1894 – ''Border collie''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A dog of a large breed developed in Scotland for herding [[sheep]], with long hair, erect ears and a long, narrow muzzle.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[border collie]]

+ * [[Bearded Collie]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[coal]]

+ * [[sheepdog]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}