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terrier

 [ter-ee-er]   Origin

ter·ri·er

1   [ter-ee-er]
noun
1.
any of several breeds of usually small dogs, used originally to pursue game and drive it out of its hole or burrow.
2.
(initial capital letter) U.S. Military. a surface-to-air, two-stage antiaircraft missile.
Origin:
1400–50; < Middle French, short for chien terrier literally, dog of the earth (< Medieval Latin terrārius; see terra, -ier2); so called because used to start badgers from their burrows; replacing late Middle English terrere < Anglo-French (see -er2)

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Terrier is always a great word to know.
So is quincunx. Does it mean:
a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.
an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged

ter·ri·er

2   [ter-ee-er]
noun Law.
a book or document in which are described the site, boundaries, acreage, tenants, etc., of certain lands.
Origin:
1470–80; < Middle French, short for registre terrier register of land (< Medieval Latin terrārius; see terra, -ier2); replacing earlier terrere < Anglo-French (see -er2

ter·ry

   [ter-ee] noun, plural -ries, adjective
noun
1.
the loop formed by the pile of a fabric when left uncut.
2.
Also called terry cloth. a pile fabric, usually of cotton, with loops on both sides, as in a Turkish towel.
adjective
3.
made of such a fabric: a terry bathrobe.
4.
having the pile loops uncut: terry velvet.
Origin:
1775–85; perhaps variant of terret
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
terrier1 (ˈtɛrɪə)
 
—n
any of several usually small, active, and short-bodied breeds of dog, originally trained to hunt animals living underground
 
[C15: from Old French chien terrier earth dog, from Medieval Latin terrārius belonging to the earth, from Latin terra earth]

terrier2 (ˈtɛrɪə)
 
—n
English legal history a register or survey of land
 
[C15: from Old French, from Medieval Latin terrārius of the land, from Latin terra land]

Terrier (ˈtɛrɪə)
 
—n
informal a member of the British Army's Territorial and Volunteer Reserve

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

terrier
c.1440, from O.Fr. chien terrier "terrier dog," lit. "earth dog," from M.L. terrarius "of earth," from L. terra "earth" (see terrain). So called because the dogs pursue their quarry (foxes, badgers, etc.) into their burrows.
EXPAND

terry
"loop raised in pile-weaving, left uncut," 1784, possibly an alteration of Fr. tiré "drawn," from pp. of tirer "draw out" (cf. cognate Ger. gezogener Sammet "drawn velvet").
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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