Becky and her classmate Lily talk again in the common room of their dorm.
Lily: Hi, Becky. It was fun learning about dog breeds. Can we do some more?
Becky: Sure. What would you like to know?
Lily: Some more about the meanings of the breeds' names, if possible.
Becky: Sure! Here's what we'll do: I'll give you hints, and you try to guess the breed.
Lily: Sounds hard, but let's try.
Becky: First, these breeds--and there are lots of them--were bred to dig in the earth to get small animals.
Lily: Oh, like the dachshund we talked about?
Becky: Like that, yeah. The key word here is "earth."
Lily: Ummm... "earth dogs"?
Becky: No, silly! What's the Latin word for earth?
Lily: That would be "terra"... Oh! Terriers!
Becky: That's right! There are lots of different terriers, with many different uses, but most of them were bred to dig out rats, foxes, and other burrowing animals.
Lily: But now they're mostly pets, right?
Becky: Right. I think that's true of most working dogs. Okay, here's another: this dog looks like it has a beard, and its name comes from a German word for "snout," which is an animal's nose.
Lily: Snout... Schnauzer!
Becky: Yes! The schnauzer is named for its distinctive-looking snout. Incidentally, it's considered a terrier, too.
Lily: Hah. Okay, give me another.
Becky: This dog is considered delicate now, but it was bred for jumping into water.
Lily: Like a kind of retriever?
Becky: Exactly. But you'd never guess it. They jumped into lakes... and rivers... and puddles...
Lily: Poodles!
Becky: You got it! "Splash" in German was something like "puddeln." We get both the words "poodle" and "puddle" from it.
Lily: So it was a "splash hound?"
Becky: Yes, it was! Now, this one will be too easy. These dogs were bred for attacking bulls.
Lily: Bulldogs!
Becky: Bingo! They're strong in the front quarters, and the weird way their mouth is designed was for breathing while they held onto an angry bull.
Lily: Why would they do that, anyway?
Becky: Believe it or not, there was a sport called bull baiting, where dogs would attack a bull and hang on.
Lily: Disgusting.
Becky: I know. Okay, one more. The Welsh word for "dwarf" is "cor."
Lily: Cor... Cor... I don't know.
Becky: The Welsh word for "dog" is "ci," but got changed to "gi."
Lily: Still, nothing.
Becky: Haven't you ever heard of a breed called "corgi?"
Lily: Nope.
Becky: It's the kind of dog you see with England's Queen Elizabeth.
Lily: Well, now I know. Thanks, Becky.
Becky: It was fun!
Lily: Yeah--'til the last one!
Becky: Ya can't win 'em all!
Lily: I guess not!
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