cocker spaniel
5
1.2
- noun
- /ˈkɑːkər ˈspæn.jəl/
:
cocker spaniel
- Over 35 years, we have had (and lost) 3 cocker spaniels, and every time it leaves a huge gap.
- cocker spaniel puppy
- black cocker spaniel
- little cocker spaniel
Jack Russell, Chihuahua, Pug, Yorkshire terrier, Cocker spaniel, Staffordshire terrier.
- Jack Russell, Chihuahua, Pug, Yorkshire terrier, Cocker spaniel, Staffordshire terrier.
Examples
-
During our walk in the park, we met a friendly cocker spaniel that fetched the ball eagerly.
-
There were no other children in the house where they stayed, no toys, just an old cocker spaniel named Maxie.
Fiction book (1999) -
There are pictures of cocker spaniels on the walls.
Fiction book (1995) -
Blanche had a cocker spaniel that used to lick her face.
Fiction book (1994) -
"People know what a cocker spaniel looks like; that's one nice thing about the breed."
Fiction book (1999) -
In front of the photographs were bright color snapshots of a cocker spaniel with butterscotch fur and watery eyes.
Fiction book (1997) -
A honey-colored cocker spaniel, fat and elderly, waddled across the porch, took several sniffs of the morning, and settled down to survey it.
Fiction book (1995) -
It was a little cocker spaniel dog in a crate that he'd sent all the way from Texas--black and white, spotted.
-
My friend just adopted a lovely cocker spaniel who is always eager to cuddle.
-
The little cocker spaniel wagged its tail excitedly when it saw its owner coming home.
Synonyms
18
3.0
A dog with long silky ears and a soft coat
13
4.6
A small dog with long ears and silky fur often kept as a pet
A small, lively dog with long silky ears and wavy hair often kept as a pet
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a small dog breed' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'cocker' (a small spaniel) with 'spaniel' (a breed of dog); the compound simply specifies a type of spaniel. This compositional pattern (breed-type + breed) is common and cross-linguistically regular, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily understand the MWE.
Etymology
Cocker spaniel gets its name from the dog's old job: small dogs called cockers were used to hunt a bird called a 'woodcock', and the word spaniel likely comes from a word meaning 'from Spain'. So the name shows it was once a small hunting dog, which helps explain why it is lively and friendly today.