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dog O.E. docga, a late, rare word used of a powerful breed of canine. It forced out O.E. hund (the general Germanic and IE word; see canine) by 16c. and subsequently was picked up in many continental languages (cf. Fr. dogue, Dan. dogge), but the origin remains one of the great mysteries of English etymology.
A male canine is referred to as a dog, while a female is called a bitch (derived from Middle English bicche, from Old English bicce, ultimately from Old Norse bikkja). The father of a litter is called the sire, and the mother is called the dam.