English springer
- noun
- /ˈɪŋɡlɪʃ ˈsprɪŋər/
:
springer spaniel inglés
- My friend adopted an English springer from the shelter, and he quickly became a beloved member of the family.
- English springer spaniel
Examples
-
They trained their English springer to retrieve fallen birds during hunting trips.
-
For a moment, he considers Duke, their English springer spaniel, but he's much too small to sit on and never does anything you ask him to.
Fiction book (2001) -
At the dog show, the judges all praised the agility of the English springer as it gracefully navigated through the obstacles.
Synonyms
18
3.0
A dog with long silky ears and a soft coat
6
7.2
A large hunting dog with a wavy coat that finds and scares birds
1
3.9
A medium to large energetic hunting dog with long ears and a wavy soft coat
1
3.4
A medium-sized dog with a black-and-white or brown-and-white coat used for hunting and bringing back birds
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'English' identifies origin and 'springer' names a particular spaniel breed used for flushing/retrieving game, so the phrase simply denotes the English variety of that breed. This country-name + breed pattern is common and follows standard modifier+noun composition, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily infer the meaning.
Etymology
English springer comes from the dog's old job: to make birds 'spring', which means jump, out of bushes for hunters. A springer then finds and brings the birds back, so today the name means a hunting dog that finds and fetches birds.