spaniel

/ˈspænjəl/

/ˈspænjəl/

Other forms: spaniels

A spaniel is a wavy-haired dog with long, soft ears that was bred to help hunters by startling birds out of their hiding spots.

Spaniels were bred as gun dogs, flushing game out of bushes, retrieving birds from the water, and pointing their bodies toward the hunter's prey, but most of these dogs are perfectly happy lounging on the couch. Whether it's a springer spaniel or a little Cavalier King Charles, this type of dog has feathery hair and long ears, and makes a great pal. The name, "Spanish" in Latin, is from an unproven theory that it originated in Spain.

Definitions of spaniel

1. noun

   any of several breeds of small to medium-sized gun dogs with a long silky coat and long frilled ears
   types:

   Brittany spaniel

   tall active short-tailed French breed of bird dog having a usually smooth orange- or liver-and-white coat

   clumber, clumber spaniel

   a thickset spaniel with longish silky hair

   field spaniel

   large usually black hunting and retrieving spaniel with a dense flat or slightly wavy coat; cross between cocker and Sussex spaniel

   springer, springer spaniel

   a large spaniel with wavy silky coat usually black or liver and white

   English cocker spaniel, cocker, cocker spaniel

   a small breed with wavy silky hair; originally developed in England

   Sussex spaniel

   an English breed with short legs and a golden liver-colored coat

   water spaniel

   any dog of two large curly-coated breeds used for hunting waterfowl

   English springer, English springer spaniel

   a breed having typically a black-and-white coat

   Welsh springer spaniel

   a red-and-white breed slightly smaller than the English springer spaniel

   American water spaniel

   breed of medium-sized spaniels originating in America having chocolate or liver-colored curly coat

   Irish water spaniel

   breed of large spaniels developed in Ireland having a heavy coat of liver-colored curls and a topknot of long curls and a nearly hairless tail

   type of:

   gun dog, sporting dog

   a dog trained to work with sportsmen when they hunt with guns