spaniel
/ˈspænjəl/
More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations
obsolete/ˈspænəl/
spaniel noun: any of various small to medium-sized breeds of gun dog having a broad muzzle, long, wavy fur and long ears that hang at the side of the head, bred for flushing and retrieving game.
Noun
spaniel (plural spaniels)
- Any of various small to medium-sized breeds of gun dog having a broad muzzle, long, wavy fur and long ears that hang at the side of the head, bred for flushing and retrieving game.
- A cringing, fawning person.
- Pro[theus].[…]Yet (Spaniel-like) the more ſhe ſpurnes my loue, / The more it growes, and fawneth on her ſtill;c. 1590–1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Two Gentlemen of Verona”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and...
Verb
spaniel (third-person singular simple present spaniels, present participle (US) spanieling or (UK) spanielling, simple past and past participle (US) spanieled or (UK) spanielled)
- To follow loyally or obsequiously, like a spaniel.
- Antony: Do we shake hands.—All come to this!—The hearts / That spaniel'd me at heels, to whom I gave / Their wishes, do discandy, melt their sweetsc. 1606–1607 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Anthonie and Cleopatra”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard...
- J. Sedgewick (1840), Timon, but not of Athens, page 200: “Always spanielling at the heels of power, the mitred Dignitaries displayed, from first to last, the most rancorous hostility against her.”
spaniel meaning in Malay and Thai
spaniel in Malay
- dog breed
- spaniel
spaniel in Thai
- dog breed
- สเปเนียล
Examples of spaniel in a sentence
- It was sad to put our beloved spaniel to sleep, but it was better than letting him suffer.
- She has a spaniel and a red setter.
- In this discussion, we will lump together various breeds of spaniels, because the differences among them don't matter for our practical purposes here.
Forms of spaniel
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | spaniels |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | spaniels |
| present participle US | spanieling |
| present participle UK | spanielling |
| past participle US | spanieled |
| past US | spanieled |
| past participle UK | spanielled |
| past UK | spanielled |
Origin of spaniel
From Middle English spaynol, from Old French espaigneul (modern French épagneul), from Old Occitan espaignol, from Vulgar Latin *Hispāniolus (“Spanish”), from Hispānia (“Spain”).
Words formed from spaniel
Phrases with spaniel
Words that rhyme with spaniel
Questions about spaniel
- What does spaniel mean?
- Spaniel means any of various small to medium-sized breeds of gun dog having a broad muzzle, long, wavy fur and long ears that hang at the side of the head, bred for flushing and retrieving game.
- What is spaniel in Malay?
- Spaniel in Malay is spaniel. See Spaniel meaning in Malay.
- What part of speech is spaniel?
- Spaniel can be a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce spaniel?
- Spaniel is pronounced /ˈspænjəl/.
- What is the plural of spaniel?
- The plural of spaniel is spaniels.
Words near spaniel in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: spaniel (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.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-spaniel.wav.
Cite this entry: “spaniel.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/spaniel. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.