pug

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See also: PuG

English

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Pronunciation

  • enPR: pŭg, IPA(key): /pʌɡ/
  • Audio (Southern England)(file)
  • Rhymes: -ʌɡ

Etymology 1

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

portrait of a pug

Noun

pug (plural pugs)

  1. A small dog of an ancient breed originating in China, having a snub nose, wrinkled face, squarish body, short smooth hair, and curled tail.
    Synonyms: Chinese pug, Dutch bulldog, Dutch mastiff, mini mastiff, mops, carlin, pugdog
  2. A bargeman.
  3. (obsolete) chaff; the refuse of grain
  4. Any geometrid moth of the genus Eupithecia.
Derived terms
Translations

Etymology 2

Corruption of puck, from Old English pūca (“goblin, demon”). Compare Icelandic púki (“demon”) and Welsh pwca (“hobgoblin”).

Noun

pug (plural pugs)

  1. (obsolete) An elf or hobgoblin.
  2. An upper servant in a great house.
  3. A harlot; a prostitute.
    • September 24 1600, Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, letter:
      the Lo. Admyrall and the Lord Threasurer with a couple of Pugges or some vscough baugh or some such toyes, it would shew that you do not neglect them, whoe, I protest, are to you wonderfull kynde.
Synonyms

Etymology 3

Abbreviation of pugilist, from Latin pugil.

Noun

pug (plural pugs)

  1. (informal) One who fights with fists; a boxer.
    • 1988, Ken Blady, The Jewish Boxers Hall of Fame, page 226:
      He never trained for his characters either: with his slurred speech and disfigured mug he usually portrayed a punch-drunk ex-pug or comic tough guy, roles in which he was a natural.

Etymology 4

Compare German pucken (“to thump, beat”).

Noun

pug (countable and uncountable, plural pugs)

  1. Any compressed clay-like material mixed and worked into a soft, plastic condition for making bricks, pottery or for paving. (Also pug soil)
  2. A pug mill.
Derived terms

Verb

pug (third-person singular simple present pugs, present participle pugging, simple past and past participle pugged)

  1. (transitive) To mix and stir when wet.
    to pug clay for bricks or pottery
  2. (transitive) To fill or stop with clay by tamping; to fill in or spread with mortar, as a floor or partition, for the purpose of deadening sound.

Etymology 5

From Hindi पग (pag, “step, foot”), related to Sanskrit पद्य (padya, “foot”) and Greek πόδι (pódi, “foot”).

Noun

pug (plural pugs)

  1. The pawprint or footprint of an animal.
    • 1889, Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell, Pigsticking, page 56:
      And on closer investigation the abashed coolies discover that across the great square pug of the tiger runs the delicate tracing of the little field rat's toes […]
Synonyms

Etymology 6

Probably related to puck.

Noun

pug (plural pugs)

  1. (obsolete) A term of endearment.

Etymology 7

Acronym of pickup group.

Noun

pug (plural pugs)

  1. (online gaming) Alternative letter-case form of PuG (group of players who are unknown to each other, grouped together to work toward a short-term goal, such as completing a dungeon or a raid)

Anagrams

Volapük

Pronunciation

Noun

pug (nominative plural pugs)

  1. slaughter, slaughtering
  2. butchery, butchering

Declension

declension of pug
singular plural
nominative pug pugs
genitive puga pugas
dative puge puges
accusative pugi pugis
vocative 1 o pug! o pugs!
predicative 2 pugu pugus
  • 1 status as a case is disputed
  • 2 in later, non-classical Volapük only

Related terms

Terms derived from pug
Wikious
Boobota
Sagapedia