Dog Words and Their Evolving Usage
There are many words we use to describe our furry friends, each carrying its unique nuanced meaning. Even today, we are coining seemingly new ways to describe these creatures. Google Trends reports ‘doggo’ as a commonly referenced word picking up major traction in late May 2014.
Doggo isn’t as new as one may think. The Oxford Etymological Dictionary would argue that we may place its origins in the 19th Century where it would be considered a slang word to ‘remain quiet, remain hid’, with reference to the light sleeping of dogs and the difficulty of determining whether or not their closed eyes signify a sleep-state. One may be wise, ‘to lie doggo’ like Macaulay Culkin in Home Alone, remaining unheard yet alert.
Behold the doggo of the internet age. Per knowyourmeme, “On May 22nd, 2014, the Ding de la Doggo Facebook[3] page was launched”, followed by a rich history of internet adoption. enriching the way we communicate about dogs, doggo brings about a sense of playfulness with its casual -o suffix. This spurious relationship shows that a word once referring to a state of being could fall obsolete and be revived only in homonym to the doggo of the 1800s.
Standing the test of time are the words canine and hound. Canine’s first written usage is recorded to have been in the 17th century coming from French (canin/canine) and Latin (caninus/canina) roots.
Hound, the familiar word learned early in life from widespread due to popular culture exposure. The Fox and the Hound, Elvis’, ‘Hound-dog’, both persisting in modern times. Your mother at some point asked you to stop hounding her. The Oxford Etymological Dictionary dates usage back to the 13th century, with two definitions perfectly adjacent.
Definition 1) dog kept for the chase
Definition 2) applied contemptuously to a person
As old and persistent as ‘hound’ may be, it isn’t the most common word. If it were, the title of the article may read differently. Enter, dog. While hound dates back to the 1200s, ‘dog’ is a more recent invention with usage dating back to the 16th century. From where exactly the roots are placed is unknown though it is speculated to have a relationship with Old Norse’s dugge, ‘useless fellow’.
Times and labels have changed, but much remains the same about our beloved companions. As time evolves so will our vocabulary to describe these creatures; perhaps this is the century we see ‘dog’ displaced.
— All non-contemporary etymological information collected from the Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology
