greyhound

Meanings

Noun

• A lean breed of dog used in hunting and racing.
• A highball cocktail of vodka and grapefruit juice.
• A swift steamer, especially an ocean steamer.

Verb

• To leap rapidly across the surface of the water.

Related

Similar words

• salty dog

Origin

• From Old English grīġhund, from a cognate or borrowing of Old Norse grøy ("bitch") (whence Icelandic grey, thus not related to the colour grey) plus hund. Altered by folk etymology to appear to be grey + hound (and, therefore, alternative form, grayhound—gray, form of grey).