pugs

Noun

pug (plural pugs)

1. A pug dog, a small dog of an ancient breed originating in China, having a snub nose, wrinkled face, squarish body, short smooth hair, and curled tail.
   • She […] tells Fibs, makes Miſchief, buys China, cheats at Cards, keeps a Pug-dog, and hates the Parſons; […]1740 (first performance), David Garrick, Lethe. A Dramatic Satire. […], Dublin: […] S. Powell, [f]or G. and A. Ewing, G. Faulkner, J. Hoey, J. Exshaw, J. Exdall, and R. James, […], published 1749...

   Synonyms:

   carlin, Chinese pug, Dutch bulldog, Dutch mastiff, mini mastiff, mops

2. A pug moth, often with a descriptive word: any geometrid moth of the tribe Eupitheciini, especially the genus Eupithecia; a geometer moth.
3. (historical) In full pug hood: a hood, sometimes with a short cloak attached, worn by women around the middle of the 18th century.
4. In full pug engine: a small locomotive chiefly used for shunting (“moving trains from one track to another, or carriages from one train to another”).
5. (UK, archaic, regional) Also used as a proper name: any of various animals, such as a ferret, hare, squirrel, or young salmon.
   • Dear, delicate Madam, I am your little Paraquit, your Sparrovv, your Shock, your Pugg, your Squirrel.1685 July (first performance), N[ahum] Tate, Cuckolds-Haven: Or, An Alderman No Conjurer. A Farce. […], London: […] J. H. and are to be sold by Edward Poole, […], published 1685, →OCLC, Act I, scene...
6. (UK, archaic, regional, specifically) Synonym of teg (“a sheep (originally a ewe) in its second year, or from the time it is weaned until it is first shorn”).
   • It is to be observed in this experiment, […] that the loss of weight by feeding (tegs or pugs) on turnips, is remarkable: […]1808, Thomas Batchelor, “Live Stock”, in General View of the Agriculture of the County of Bedford. […], London: […] [B. MᶜMillan] for Richard Phillips, […], →OCLC, section 2 (Sheep), page 541

   Synonyms:

   teg

See all 31 meanings of pug