beagle
/ˈbiːɡ(ə)l
/noun
A small hound of a breed with a short coat, used for hunting hares.Areas of disagreement is that the impact of hunting with hounds and beagles, we are not actually quite clear whether they have any significant impact on hare numbers overall....
- For example, the beagle is a hunting dog and was trained to bark when it spotted the prey.
- The date is also traditionally the first day of hunting meets and foxhounds, lurchers, greyhounds, beagles, minkhounds, terriers and other hunting dogs will all be taken along to Higham.
verb [no object] (usually as noun beagling)
Hunt with beagles: he used to go beagling...
- He was interested in gardening, literature, music, cricket, polo, fox hunting, and beagling.
- This means that all forms of hare hunting - beagling, harrying and hare coursing - will be illegal in Northern Ireland.
- And 77-year-old Trevor Masters, of Summerbridge, who has been beagling for 60 years said: ‘Hunting rabbits will not be the same.’
Derivatives
beagler
- The beaglers I used to run across South Yorkshire with were mostly unemployed and retired foundry workers from Sheffield's steelworks.
- In the same way beaglers enjoy running with the dogs.
- Friday around noon beaglers from across the country start showing up ready to trade dogs and swap lies.
Origin
Late 15th century: perhaps from Old French beegueule 'open-mouthed', from beer 'open wide' + gueule 'throat'.