Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

running dog

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.86 in modern English

Syllables
run-ning -dog
IPA
13
Scrabble Score
10
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A lackey; a lapdog; an unprincipled person who helps or flatters other, more powerful and often evil people.

Derogatory

Etymology

Calque of Chinese 走狗 (zǒugǒu, “running dog”) (see also 狗腿子 (gǒutuǐzi) and 狗腿 (gǒutuǐ)), used as an insult by the governments of the People's Republic of China and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (주구/走狗 (jugu)) against those supportive of the great imperialist powers, variously including Russia and the United States. Though earlier use of the figurative sense of Chinese 走狗 dates back at least to the 18th century.

Usage

Inflected Forms

running dogs (plural)

Questions

What does running dog mean?
A lackey; a lapdog; an unprincipled person who helps or flatters other, more powerful and often evil people.
Where does running dog come from?
Calque of Chinese 走狗 (zǒugǒu, “running dog”) (see also 狗腿子 (gǒutuǐzi) and 狗腿 (gǒutuǐ)), used as an insult by the governments of the People's Republic of China and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (주구/走狗 (jugu)) against those supportive of the great imperialist powers, variously including Russia and the United States. Though earlier use of the figurative sense of Chinese 走狗 dates back at least to the 18th century.

How to pronounce running dog

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “running dog”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
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