Rottweilern.
/ˈrɒtˌwʌɪlə/, /ˈrɒtˌvʌɪlə/, U.S. /ˈrɑtˌwaɪlər/ 1. A breed of large dog having a short, coarse, black and tan coat and a broad head with powerful jaws and pendent ears, sometimes trained as a guard dog and widely known for its potentially aggressive temperament; a dog of this breed.
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the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > family Canidae > other types of dog > [noun] > miscellaneous types of
bear dog1581
xoloitzcuintli1780
St. Bernard1839
Maori dog1840
Leonberg1907
Rottweiler1909
Dobermann pinscher1917
corgi1926
Bernese mountain dog1935
kuvasz1935
Bernese1936
Entlebucher1937
Munsterlander1945
spinone1945
Swedish Vallhund.1947
labradoodle1955
xolo1956
cockapoo1960
maltipoo1968
peekapoo1968
Rottie1968
dorgi1975
Shar-Pei1976
bandog1984
goldendoodle2001
1907 R. Leighton New Bk. Dog 521/2 The Rottweil Dog, usually called the Rottweiler Metzgerhund, or butcher's dog of the town of Rottweil in South Germany.]
1909 Field 25 Dec. 1170/3 The authorities [in Germany] have endeavoured to widen the base of supply; and to most of them a police dog is simply a police dog whether it be a sheepdog, an Airedale, a Dobermann, or a Rottweiler.
1917 Policeman's Monthly Jan. 5/3 Nowadays four breeds of dogs are being used for police purposes: the Continental Sheepdog,..the Airedale Terrier, the Doberman Pinscher and the Rottweillers.
1948 C. L. B. Hubbard Dogs in Brit. xvi. 163 Although a comparatively new arrival to Britain the Rottweiler is a very well-known dog on the Continent.
1962 Times 24 Aug. 1/3 (advt.) Very special homes required by 3 Rottweiler puppies.
1978 Daily Tel. 11 Apr. 3/6 Dulwich College staff are alleged to have been attacked by Rottweillers—German hunting dogs—belonging to a neighbour.
1989 Q Dec. 23/1 100 dog-handlers and teams equipped with tranquiliser guns (to subdue the Rottweiler dogs used by bouncers).
2008 Vanity Fair (N.Y.) Oct. 206/2 The loser's corpse is flung out to the tundra to be ravaged by bands of Rottweilers.
2. figurative. An aggressive or tenacious person.Sometimes in extended use or as part of an extended metaphor.
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1990 Guardian 16 July 16/1 Calcavecchia is more the rottweiler who sinks his teeth into a course and holds on like grim death.
1992 S. Berkoff Coriolanus in Deutschland 78 We keep it working and it starts to come to life as Coriolanus becomes the rottweiler, growing incensed and yet held back by the restraining gestures and hands of his two colleagues.
1998 A. Martin Bilton ix. 104 He's got a good thing going: an absolute Rottweiler in his interviewing technique, but he's got this very nice sideline with his interest in butterflies.
2003 Daily Tel. 12 June 32/3 Insurance experts reckon Norwich Union's motor arm, still the rottweiler of the market, also loses money on motor underwriting.
2008 Vanity Fair (N.Y.) Nov. 256/1 The man at the helm was Roger Ailes, formerly the chief Rottweiler for Republican candidates.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2011; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1909