pug

Meanings

Noun

• A small dog of an ancient breed originating in China, having a snub nose, wrinkled face, squarish body, short smooth hair, and curled tail.
• A bargeman.
• chaff; the refuse of grain
• Any geometrid moth of the genus Eupithecia (genus).
• An elf or hobgoblin.
• An upper servant in a great house.
• A harlot; a prostitute.
• One who fights with fists; a boxer.
• Any compressed clay-like material mixed and worked into a soft, plastic condition for making bricks, pottery or for paving. (Also pug soil)
• A pug mill.
• The pawprint or footprint of an animal.

Verb

• To mix and stir when wet.
• To fill or stop with clay by tamping; to fill in or spread with mortar, as a floor or partition, for the purpose of deadening sound.

Related

Similar words

• puck, goblin, fairy
• pugmark

Origin

• Corruption of puck, from Old English pūca ("goblin, demon"). Compare Icelandic púki ("demon") and Welsh pwca ("hobgoblin").
• Abbreviation of pugilist, from Latin pugil.
• Compare German pucken ("to thump, beat").
• From Hindi पग ("step, foot"), related to Sanskrit पद्य ("foot") and Greek πόδι ("foot").
• Probably related to puck.