Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. One of a breed of small hounds having short legs, drooping ears, and a smooth coat with white, black, and tan markings.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A small hound, formerly kept to hunt hares, now almost superseded by the harrier, which is sometimes called by this name. The beagle is smaller than the harrier, compactly built, smooth-haired, and has pendulous ears. The smallest beagles are little larger than lap-dogs.
- n. Hence Figuratively, one who makes a business of scenting out or hunting down (a person or thing); a spy; a bailiff or sheriff's officer.
- n. A local name for several species of the smaller sharks.
Wiktionary
- n. A small short-legged smooth-coated hound, often used for hunting hares. Often tri-coloured, its friendly disposition makes it suitable as a family pet.
- n. A person who snoops on others; a detective.
- v. To hunt with beagles.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. A small hound, or hunting dog, twelve to fifteen inches high, used in hunting hares and other small game. See
Illustration in Appendix. - n. Fig.: A spy or detective; a constable.
WordNet 3.0
- n. a small short-legged smooth-coated breed of hound
Etymologies
- From Middle English begle. Origin uncertain, possibly from Middle French beegueule, from beer + gueule. The French bigle is from the English. (Wiktionary)
- Middle English begle, possibly from Old French bee gueule, loudmouth : beer, to gape (variant of baer; see bay2) + gueule, gullet (from Latin gula). (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“This beagle is the perfect gift for the upcoming holidays.”
“Although I'm sure the beagle is the real trouble-maker, I can't give the beagle up because she is Monk's dog and we chose her.”
Dru Blood - I believe in the inherent goodness of all beings: November 2004 Archives
“A beagle is unlikely to have any effect on your deer herd.”
“I know its a little wierd to be celebrating a dogs b-day but my little huntin beagle has his first b-day on Feb. 6.”
“My current beagle is my first dog that I could say is truly a hunting dog.”
“My current beagle is named Lexi LuLu Bear (Damn ex-wife).”
“This is a kit to completely transform your beloved pug or beagle from a cute canine to the ultimate unicorn.”
“A beagle is one of the most social breeds of a very social animal. why is it perfectly OK to keep an animal as sensitive and complex as a beagle in a state of utter boredom and loneliness as if it were a lawnmower or some other machine for the convenience of its owner?”
“It's so much easier to have a dog who knows how to mind ... especially since the beagle is such an untamable pain in the ass.”
Dru Blood - I believe in the inherent goodness of all beings: October 2005 Archives
“If a beagle is crossed with an elkhound and then their offspring are crossed, some of those dogs will suffer from retinal degeneration and some won't.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘beagle’.
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Interesting words
A list of words that are odd or words that I have looked up.
concupiscence, brize, scree, scoria, forestaff, spanaemia, valetudinarianism, distasture, pyrethrum, laudanum, gentian, bicameral and 11184 more...
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dogs and their relatives
dog dogs and more dogs anything
I can think of ,canids and their
relatives
my favourite African wild dog
all have 42 teethaffenpinscher, akita, alan, aland, alant, alopecoid, apso, bandog, barbet, basenji, basset, bawtie and 355 more...
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Peanuts
Words related to the cartoons of Charles M Schulz by the same name.
wishy-washy liberal, peanuts, snoopy, linus, lucy, fussbudget, woodstock, good grief, charlie brown, schroeder, peppermint patty, violet and 17 more...
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What's That Pokémon Name?
Words used to create the names of Pokémon, which are usually portmanteaux.
bulb, dinosaur, ivy, venus, char, salamander, squirt, turtle, blast, tortoise, water, caterpillar and 525 more...
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Ships of Fame
Famous ship names that I've heard of and/or like. Includes airships. See also the list Ships, if you want to.
bonhomme richard, serapis, monitor, virginia, florizel, aurora, stephano, golden hind, santa maria, pinta, nina, beagle and 119 more...
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working list
overkill, premonition, discombobulation, golliwogs, guerilla, paraphernalia, banter, gambit, atonement, leeway, ingenuity, haberdashery and 164 more...
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B is for Blue Canary
My B Words
bugbear, bette davis eyes, backstroke, barney, babushka, babycakes, backscratcher, bad news bears, balderdash, ballyhoo, baloney, bamboozle and 150 more...
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Snoop
Private dicks.
sherlock, sleuth, hawkshaw, investigator, gumshoe, inquirer, shamus, skip tracer, eye, private eye, private detective, private investigator and 28 more...
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words that jon likes
orthorexia, gastroenterologist, liquify, platypus, buffoonery, sockets, a'a, seersucker, bowdlerize, brouhaha, incendiary, aplomb and 8 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for beagle.
chained_bear "Today's beagle is traced to the Norman Conquest of England, when the Talbot hound, a large tracking dog, was brought to Britain. This original foxhound was bred and selected to track, chase, and corner its quarry, alerting riders on horseback with its mournful bay.
"Other Talbot hounds were selected and bred not to track, but for the convenience of their size. By the fifteenth century, texts refer to a small hunting dog, never taller than fifteen inches high, bred to be carried in the pocket of a knight on the hunt. The name of these small hounds derived from the Celtic word beag, meaning small. Despite its diminutive size, the beagle quickly gained a reputation for its even, if stubborn, temperament and stamina."
—Merrily Weisbord and Kim Kachanoff, Dogs with Jobs: Working Dogs Around the World (NY and London: Pocket Books, 2000), 58
See also pocket beagle, and another usage on termite. Jul 24, 2009