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Glite Dictionary
Sheltie

Sheltie

1 3.5
A small dog with a long thick coat like a Shetland sheepdog
  • noun
  • /ˈʃɛlti/
translation icon : Sheltie
  • He is a little thing, a Sheltie, not a Lassie look-alike but just another brown hairy dog.

Pizza New Brunswick, East Coast, little Sheltie, little soft, warm cuddly dog.

Examples

  • My Sheltie also goes in and out of his kennel at will; the door is always open.

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  • My Sheltie is a picky drinker.

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  • The Sheltie will be six years old next month.

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  • The Sheltie is a male.

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  • And it was a little Sheltie puppy.

  • The Sheltie was born in Illinois.

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  • The Sheltie came from a litter of three—two girls and him.

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  • When my (now nearly 3-year-old) Sheltie Shiloh was a puppy, I was extra cautious with him.

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  • The Sheltie is known for its intelligence and loyalty, making it a popular family pet.

  • My friend has a Sheltie that enjoys playing fetch in the park.

Synonyms

sheepdog
vsSheltie
13 2.1

A dog trained to move and protect sheep on a farm

is a specific small breed within that broader herding dog category
Shetland sheepdog
vsSheltie
5.8

A small dog with a long thick coat that looks like a small collie

is the familiar short name used instead of the formal breed name
Shetland
vsSheltie
6.8

A small dog like a collie that herds sheep

focuses on the long thick coat as the breed's identifying feature

Surface Forms

Sheltie singular
Shelties plural

Morphology

Sheltie = Shetland sheepdog + Shetland (semi-transparent) = shelt + ie

The form shows a clipped stem plus the diminutive '-ie', making the connection to 'Shetland sheepdog' recognizable but somewhat colloquial and breed-specific rather than a productively compositional meaning for all learners.

Etymology

Sheltie comes from Shetland, the islands where the dog began, plus the friendly ending -ie, which means 'small' or 'friendly', as in 'doggie'. So a Sheltie is a small Shetland sheepdog, and that explains the name.