corgi

Definition

Ellipsis of Welsh corgi (“a type of herding dog originating from Wales, having a small body, short legs, and fox-like features such as large ears; two separate breeds are recognized: the Cardigan Welsh Corgi and the Pembroke Welsh Corgi”).

Etymology

PIE word *ḱwṓ Borrowed from Welsh corgi, a compound of cor (“dwarf”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to cut off”)) + gi (the soft mutation of ci (“dog”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱwṓ (“dog”), perhaps from *peḱ- (“livestock; wealth”)). The rare plural form corgwn is borrowed from Welsh corgwn.

Example Sentences

• "By this time the Pembrokeshire—the short-tailed corgwn—were increasing in popularity very rapidly. The Cardiganshire variety lagged behind their more numerous cousins, but, even so, almost all the larger shows of this country had classes […]"
• "[W]hich news item do we have to worry about and have a view on? Not, presumably, the fact that the Queen is going cool on corgies; probably not how space exploration is getting on; townies can maybe skip the fates of either cows or badgers."
• "While larger, longer corgwn with tails were found in the lowland and hill farms of central and northern Cardiganshire, in the south a shorter, lighter corgi was more common."