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mastiff

mas·tiff

UK/ˈmæstɪf/ US/ˈmæstʌf/ uncommon

noun

1.

an old breed of powerful deep-chested smooth-coated dog used chiefly as a watchdog and guard dog

Origin

From Middle English mastif, mastyf, an aberrant derivation (with influence from Old French mestif) from Old French mastin (modern French mâtin), from Vulgar Latin *mansuetinus (“tamed (animal)”), from Latin mansuetus (“tamed”).

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.