mastiff
/ˈmæstɪf/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.58 in modern English
15
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
One of an old breed of powerful, deep-chested, and smooth-coated dogs, used chiefly as watchdogs and guard dogs.
noun
Alternative letter-case form of mastiff.
Example Sentences
- "At which time, they wryte that Demoſthenes told the people of Athens, the fable of the ſheepe and woulues, how that the woulues came on a time, and willed the ſheepe, if they woulde haue peace with them, to deliuer them their maſtiues that kept them."
- "As ſaluage Bull, whom two fierce maſtiues bayt, / When rancour doth with rage him once engore, / Forgets with wary warde them to awayt, / But with his dreadfull hornes them driues afore, / Or flings aloft or treades downe in the flore, / Breathing out wrath, and bellowing diſdaine, / That all the foreſt quakes to heare him rore: […]"
- "They fill’d the Capitoll, and Pompei’s Circke: / Where, like ſo many Maſtiues, biting ſtones, / As if his Statues novv vvere ſenſitiue / Of their vvild fury, firſt they teare them dovvne: / Then faſtning ropes, drag them along the ſtreetes, […]"
- "Avaunt, you curs! Be thy mouth or black or white, Tooth that poisons if it bite; Mastiff, greyhound, mongrel grim, Hound or spaniel, brach or him."
- "The conquering foe they soon assail’d; / First Trulla stav’d, and Cerdon tail’d, / Until their Mastives loos’d their hold: / And yet alas! do what they could, / The worsted Bear came off with store / Of bloudy wounds, but all before."
- "Soon as Ulyſſes near th’encloſure drew, / With open mouths the furious maſtives flew: […]"
Etymology
From Middle English mastif, mastyf, an aberrant derivation (with influence from Old French mestif) from Old French mastin (modern French mâtin), from Vulgar Latin *mansuetinus (“tamed (animal)”), from Latin mansuetus (“tamed”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈmæstɪf/
- British English: /ˈmæstɪf/