English Reference

Word

corgi

Phoneticscor·gi

US/ˈkɔɹɡi/

UK/kˈɔːɡi/

Definition

n. a small dog with short legs and a long body. It is a popular breed that people often keep as a pet.

n. a small, short-legged dog breed of the corgi family, originally bred in Wales for herding cattle. Often used as a general term for any small, low-to-the-ground canine.

Examples

“The corgi ran around the garden chasing a ball.”

“Many people choose a corgi as a family pet because they are friendly and easy to train.”

“While the Pembroke Welsh corgi is the most famous variety, the Cardigan corgi is slightly larger and has a longer coat.”

Examples

simple

“The corgi ran around the garden chasing a ball.”

contextual

“Many people choose a corgi as a family pet because they are friendly and easy to train.”

complex

“While the Pembroke Welsh corgi is the most famous variety, the Cardigan corgi is slightly larger and has a longer coat.”

Etymology

PIE word *ḱwṓ Borrowed from Welsh corgi, a compound of cor (“dwarf”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European (s)ker- (“to cut off”)) + gi (the soft mutation of ci (“dog”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European ḱwṓ (“dog”), perhaps from *peḱ- (“livestock; wealth”)). The rare plural form corgwn is borrowed from Welsh corgwn.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry

Level
B1 · Intermediate
Frequency
Occasional
Updated

Scan code

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English Reference