terrier

noun

1. any of several breeds of usually small dogs, used originally to pursue game and drive it out of its hole or burrow.
2. (initial capital letter) U.S. Military. a surface-to-air, two-stage antiaircraft missile.

noun Law.

1. a book or document in which are described the site, boundaries, acreage, tenants, etc., of certain lands.

noun, plural ter·ries.

1. the loop formed by the pile of a fabric when left uncut.
2. Also called terry cloth. a pile fabric, usually of cotton, with loops on both sides, as in a Turkish towel.

adjective

3. made of such a fabric: a terry bathrobe.
4. having the pile loops uncut: terry velvet.

noun

1. any of several usually small, active, and short-bodied breeds of dog, originally trained to hunt animals living underground

noun

1. English legal history a register or survey of land

noun

1. informal a member of the British Army’s Territorial and Volunteer Reserve

noun plural -ries

1. an uncut loop in the pile of towelling or a similar fabric
2. 1. a fabric with such a pile on both sides
   2. (as modifier)a terry towel

noun

1. Dame Ellen. 1847–1928, British actress, noted for her Shakespearean roles opposite Sir Henry Irving and for her correspondence with George Bernard Shaw
2. (John) Quinlan (ˈkwɪnlən). born 1937, British architect, noted for his works in neoclassical style, such as the Richmond riverside project (1984)

n.mid-15c., from Old French chien terrier “terrier dog,” literally “earth dog,” from Medieval Latin terrarius “of earth,” from Latin terra “earth” (see terrain). So called because the dogs pursue their quarry (foxes, badgers, etc.) into their burrows. n.“loop raised in pile-weaving, left uncut,” 1784, possibly an alteration of French tiré “drawn,” from past participle of tirer “draw out” (cf. German gezogener Sammet “drawn velvet”).