# hound

Pronunciation: say "HOWND" /haʊnd/

## Noun

1. A dog, especially one of the breeds developed for hunting, either by following an animal's scent or by chasing it by sight and speed.
   - Simple: A dog, especially a kind bred for hunting that finds animals by smell or chases them by sight.
   - _The hound picked up the scent at the edge of the field and set off baying._
   - _The hunters released their hounds at dawn and followed on horseback._
3. A person who eagerly seeks a particular thing, such as glory, publicity, or autographs.
   - Simple: A person who is always trying to get something, like fame or attention.
   - _The senator has a reputation as a publicity hound who never misses a camera._
   - _Bargain hounds lined up outside the store hours before the sale began._
4. A despicable person, one who deserves contempt for the way they behave.
   - Simple: A mean, nasty person who deserves no respect.
   - _"You treacherous hound," she hissed when she learned he had sold her secrets._
   - _Those hounds in the front office cut our pensions and gave themselves raises._
5. A man who constantly seeks out the company of attractive women. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: A man who is always chasing after good-looking women.
   - _Everyone at the office knew he was a hound, so his flirting surprised nobody._
   - _The hotel bar was crawling with hounds trying to buy drinks for the bridesmaids._

## Verb

2. To harass someone persistently, keeping up the pressure for a long time without letting up.
   - Simple: To keep bothering someone again and again and not leave them alone.
   - _Paparazzi continue to hound the couple wherever they travel._
   - _Creditors hounded him for months, calling at all hours of the day._

## Other meanings

- (verb) To urge someone or something on against a target, especially to set dogs on game in a hunt.
- (noun) A side bar used to brace and strengthen parts of a vehicle's running gear.
- (noun) Projections at the masthead or on the foremast that support the trestletrees and the top resting on them; also, a foretop.

## Origin

**Meanings 1, 3–5** — Proto-Indo-European *ḱwṓ ("dog") is the ultimate source, by way of Proto-Germanic *hundaz, Old English hund, and Middle English hound. Canine is a doublet. Back in 14th-century England, the ordinary word for any domestic dog was hound, while dog meant a mastiff-like type. By the 16th century the two had traded places: dog was the general word, and hound was starting to mean only hunting breeds.
**Meaning 2** — From Middle English hounden, from the noun hound.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/hound (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).