pet

Meanings

Noun

• An animal kept as a companion.
• Something kept as a companion, including inanimate objects. (pet rock, pet plant, etc.)
• One who is excessively loyal to a superior and receives preferential treatment.
• Any person or animal especially cherished and indulged; a darling.
• A fit of petulance, a sulk, arising from the impression that one has been offended or slighted.
• Abbreviation of petition

Verb

• To stroke or fondle (an animal).
• To stroke or fondle (another person) amorously.
• To treat as a pet; to fondle; to indulge.
• To be a pet.
• To be peevish; to sulk.

Adjective

• Favourite; cherished; the focus of one's (usually positive) attention.
• Kept or treated as a pet.

Related

Similar words

• companion animal
• pat, smooth
• mope, pout

Origin

• Attested since the 1500s in the sense "indulged child" and since the 1530s in the sense "animal companion". From Scots and dialectal Northern English, of unclear origin. Perhaps a back-formation of petty, a term formerly used to describe children and animals (e.g. pet lambs). Compare peat.
• The verb is derived from the noun.