alaunt
alaunt noun: a domesticated dog of an extinct breed related to the modern bulldog and mastiff, or modern breeds created in imitation of it.
Noun
alaunt (plural alaunts)
- A domesticated dog of an extinct breed related to the modern bulldog and mastiff, or modern breeds created in imitation of it.
- Les alans gentilz si doivent estre fez et taillez droitement comme un levrier de toutes choses fors de la teste, qui doit estre grosse et courte.1916, Albert Stanburrough Cook, “Appendix B: Chaucer's Alaunts”, in The Last Months of Chaucer's Earliest Patron, translation of Déduits de la Chasse des Bestes Sauvaiges et des Oiseaulx de Proye by...
- The alaunt was considered a reckless animal, and had been known to attack domestic animals, or even its owner.2007, Ed Judah, An Ancient History of Dogs: Spaniels Through the Ages, page 121
Forms of alaunt
| plural | alaunts |
|---|---|
| alternative form | alan |
| alternative form | alant |
Origin of alaunt
From Old French alans, alanz, itself from Old Spanish alán, itself possibly from Gothic *𐌰𐌻𐌰𐌽𐍃 (*alans), designating the Alan tribe of Eastern Iranian origin who were active in Western Europe during the Migration Period and were associated with the breed.
Questions about alaunt
- What does alaunt mean?
- Alaunt means a domesticated dog of an extinct breed related to the modern bulldog and mastiff, or modern breeds created in imitation of it.
- What part of speech is alaunt?
- Alaunt is a noun.
- What is the plural of alaunt?
- The plural of alaunt is alaunts.
Words near alaunt in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: alaunt (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this entry: “alaunt.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/alaunt. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.