Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A dog of a tall slender breed having a narrow head and a smooth coat. It was originally bred to hunt fast prey and is often used for racing.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A tall, very slender, fleet dog, kept for the chase, remarkable for the symmetrical strength and beauty of its form, its keen sight, and its great fleetness.
  • noun Figuratively, a fast-sailing ship, especially an ocean passenger-steamship.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A slender, graceful breed of dogs, remarkable for keen sight and swiftness. It is one of the oldest varieties known, and is figured on the Egyptian monuments.
  • noun A swift steamer, esp. an ocean steamer.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A lean breed of dog used in hunting and racing.
  • noun A highball cocktail of vodka and grapefruit juice.
  • verb of fish To leap rapidly across the surface of the water.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a tall slender dog of an ancient breed noted for swiftness and keen sight; used as a racing dog

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English grehound, from Old English grīghund : grīg-; akin to Old Norse grey, greyhound + hund, hound; see hound.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Old English grīġhund, from an unclear first element (not related to grey) + hund ("hound").

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Examples

  • Cylart was sometimes referred to as being a greyhound, but only because any large dog who was not too square or bulky was often called a greyhound at that time in much the same way that many people today refer to all breeds of northern dogs with bushy hair, a pointed face, pricked ears, and a plumed tail that is carried curved over its back as a “Husky”.

    The Pawprints of History STANLEY COREN 2002

  • Cylart was sometimes referred to as being a greyhound, but only because any large dog who was not too square or bulky was often called a greyhound at that time in much the same way that many people today refer to all breeds of northern dogs with bushy hair, a pointed face, pricked ears, and a plumed tail that is carried curved over its back as a “Husky”.

    The Pawprints of History STANLEY COREN 2002

  • Cylart was sometimes referred to as being a greyhound, but only because any large dog who was not too square or bulky was often called a greyhound at that time in much the same way that many people today refer to all breeds of northern dogs with bushy hair, a pointed face, pricked ears, and a plumed tail that is carried curved over its back as a “Husky”.

    The Pawprints of History STANLEY COREN 2002

  • Cylart was sometimes referred to as being a greyhound, but only because any large dog who was not too square or bulky was often called a greyhound at that time in much the same way that many people today refer to all breeds of northern dogs with bushy hair, a pointed face, pricked ears, and a plumed tail that is carried curved over its back as a “Husky”.

    The Pawprints of History STANLEY COREN 2002

  • One oversized handler has a pencil-thin Italian greyhound at the end of a leash.

    WORLDMag.com 2009

  • Weighing up to 80 tons and almost twice the length of a school bus, the massive fin whale -- known as the greyhound of the sea for its swimming speed -- was the victim of decades of commercial slaughter that killed the whales by the tens of thousands each year.

    Joel Reynolds: Sanction Iceland, the World's Whaling Outlaw Joel Reynolds 2011

  • Weighing up to 80 tons and almost twice the length of a school bus, the massive fin whale -- known as the greyhound of the sea for its swimming speed -- was the victim of decades of commercial slaughter that killed the whales by the tens of thousands each year.

    Joel Reynolds: Sanction Iceland, the World's Whaling Outlaw Joel Reynolds 2011

  • Weighing up to 80 tons and almost twice the length of a school bus, the massive fin whale -- known as the greyhound of the sea for its swimming speed -- was the victim of decades of commercial slaughter that killed the whales by the tens of thousands each year.

    Joel Reynolds: Sanction Iceland, the World's Whaling Outlaw Joel Reynolds 2011

  • Weighing up to 80 tons and almost twice the length of a school bus, the massive fin whale -- known as the greyhound of the sea for its swimming speed -- was the victim of decades of commercial slaughter that killed the whales by the tens of thousands each year.

    Joel Reynolds: Sanction Iceland, the World's Whaling Outlaw Joel Reynolds 2011

  • The tail of a greyhound is his rudder and his brake, and the sight is most laughable when a whole pack of them are trying to stop, each tail whirling around like a Dutch windmill.

    Army Letters from an Officer's Wife, 1871-1888 Frances Marie Antoinette Mack Roe

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