Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. Any of an ancient breed of large strong dogs, probably originating in Asia and having a short, often fawn-colored coat.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A variety of dog of considerable antiquity. A true-bred mastiff is of large size, and very stoutly built. The head is well developed and large, the lips deep and pendulous on each side of the mouth, and the whole aspect noble. This animal is capable of great attachment, and is valuable as a watch-dog.
Wiktionary
- n. One of several large breeds of dog (such as bulldogs and Saint Bernards), often used as guard dogs
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. (Zoöl.) A breed of large dogs noted for strength and courage. There are various strains, differing in form and color, and characteristic of different countries.
WordNet 3.0
- n. an old breed of powerful deep-chested smooth-coated dog used chiefly as a watchdog and guard dog
Etymologies
- An aberrant derivation from Old French mastin (modern French mâtin), from Vulgar Latin *mansuetīnus ("tamed (animal)"), from Latin mansuetus ("tamed"). (Wiktionary)
- Middle English mastif, alteration (perhaps influenced by Old French mestif, mongrel) of Old French mastin, from Vulgar Latin *(canis) mānsuētīnus, tame (dog), from Latin mānsuētus, past participle of mānsuēscere, to tame : manus, hand; + suēscere, to accustom. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“At the call the mastiff came up and looked inquiringly at his master.”
“A masty [mastiff] is handsomer to me than the most exact little dog that ever lady played withal.”
Letters from Dorothy Osborne to Sir William Temple (1652-54)
“The mastiff is a large, grave, sullen-looking dog, with a wide chest, noble head, long switch tail, bright eyes, and a loud, deep voice.”
“And a magnificent animal he is!" remarked my grandfather; "but although a mastiff is the largest of dogs, I do not think it is as sensible as many others.”
“And a magnificent specimen he is!" remarked my grandfather; "but although a mastiff is the largest and most imposing of the race, I do not think it is as sensible as many others.”
“She never had any children, and was not taxed with debauchery: "No man can say or affirm that ever she had a sweetheart or any such fond thing to dally with her;" a mastiff was the only living thing she cared for.”
“The mastiff is a good fighter, and can kill a wildcat, taking the necessary punishment well, as we found out when we once trapped one of these small lynxes.”
“The teeth -- those great friends of the closet naturalist, which help him to whole pages of speculation -- have enabled him to separate the beaver from the musquash, although the whole history and habits of these creatures prove them to be congeners, as much as a mastiff is the congener of a greyhound -- indeed, far more.”
“I certainly do not recall a mastiff attack on anyone in living memory, mainly because whilst they are huge dogs they are rare, normally gentle and require considerable funds to keep.”
“And I certainly do not recall a mastiff attack on anyone in living memory, mainly because whilst they are huge dogs they are rare, normally gentle and require considerable funds to keep.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘mastiff’.
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1100
abound, technology, branch of knowled..., prognosticate, automaton, matron, an older married ..., realm, special field of ..., kingdom, annals, historical records and 981 more...
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Gene Wolfe
Please contribute your favorite words from any of Gene Wolfe’s books to this prize-winning list.
In case you come across words in this list which are too commonplace to fit in, please ...gallipot, roost, badelaire, oblesque, execration, dhole, amschaspand, arctother, chalcedony, penitence, asimi, autarch and 839 more...
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GRE 2014
abase, abate, abdicate, aberrant, abeyance, abhor, abjure, abortive, abound, abrasive, abreast, abridge and 1577 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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Open List: SUGGESTIONS FOR THE UNDERS...
Recruiting all Wordieniks to introduce me to their best word friends!! If words were people, this is the list for ones I should meet and ones I will (hopefully) like.
gyre, penultimate, cake, schadenfreude, lacuna, skedaddle, schopfling, morphoanatomy, overscore, swasivious, brightling, phrontisserie and 17 more...
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GRE 1100
drudgery, implore, hapless, nuance, wrest, incipient, inadvertent, tremulous, bristle, euphemism, disdain, pugnacious and 346 more...
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kickassery
words that kick ass, in the non-literal sense
keraunophilia, vituperative, archnemesis, megafauna, Brontotherium, haruspex, vainglory, immanent, tarasque, aurochs, fraktur, photophore and 77 more...
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1100 words you need to know
GRE words
voracious, indiscriminate, eminent, steeped, replete, abound, technology, prognosticate, automaton, matron, paradox, realm and 288 more...
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strangelyrouge's Words
glockenspiel, gewgaw, jetsam, flotsam, gripe, grab, wench, whilst, betwixt, hither, thither, yonder and 1034 more...
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Dog Breeds according to Simon & Schus...
yugoslavian trico..., yugoslavian mount..., yorkshire terrier, xoloitzcuintle, whippet, wetterhoun, westphalian basset, west highland whi..., welsh terrier, welsh springer sp..., welsh corgi, weimaraner and 121 more...
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Words Covered in Faery Dust (M)
words that evoke magic, mystery, mayhem, magnificence or anything else that glimmers in the grass
mace, macintosh, madras, magenta, magic 8 ball, magma, mahogany, maiden, mail, mainsail, maize, malachite and 169 more...
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wickedwitch's list
lll
alit, plinth, eclat, diaphanous, portico, nival, daedal, apse, fossa, pellet, avail, midge and 143 more...
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jagosaurus's favorites
Words I like mostly because of the way they sound and feel.
ticonderoga, petulance, snark, estimable, chickahominy, feline, gezellig, gneiss, shit, willy-nilly, shelter, coda and 366 more...
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Revised GRE Wordlist_2013
Vocabulary building for my quest of GRE 2013
ephemeral, esoteric, rhetoric, censure, egregious, pittance, dupe, mulct, paucity, alacrity, maintain, laconic and 997 more...
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List 1
the list of vocabularies from 1100 words you need to know Barron's.
conceded, eminent, prognosticate, indiscriminate, voracious, replete, abound, badger, drudgery, interminable, perceive, tinge and 248 more...
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Just Plain Weird.
Something about these words doesn't look or feel right. And yet... they're strangely appealing.
pumpkin, platypus, atlatl, pterodactyl, octopus, veldt, asparagus, aspic, lacquer, mastiff, weevil, lapis and 156 more...
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