Word Origin & History
pug
1566, general term of endearment, probably related to puck (2); one of the earliest senses is "sprite, imp" (1616). The sense of "miniature dog" is from 1749; that of "monkey" is 1664. The word at various times meant "a bargeman" (1591), "a harlot" (c.1600), and "an upper servant in a great house" (1847). Pug-nose is from 1778, based on similarity to either the monkey or the dog.
[puhg] 
