corgi
English
WOTD – 1 March 2022
Etymology
| PIE word |
|---|
| *ḱwṓ |
A Cardigan Welsh corgi, the larger of the two corgwn breeds.
A Pembroke Welsh corgi.
Borrowed from Welsh corgi, a compound of cor (“dwarf”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to cut off”)) + gi (the soft mutation of ci (“dog”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱwṓ (“dog”), perhaps from *peḱ- (“livestock; wealth”)).[1]
The rare plural form corgwn is borrowed from Welsh corgwn.
Pronunciation
- Singular:
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈkɔːɡi/
Audio (Southern England) (file) - (General American) IPA(key): /ˈkɔɹɡi/
Audio (GA) (file) - Rhymes: -ɔː(ɹ)ɡi
- Hyphenation: cor‧gi
- Plural (corgwn):
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈkɔːɡuːn/
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈkɔɹɡun/
- Hyphenation: cor‧gwn
Noun
corgi (plural corgis or corgies or (rare) corgwn)
- Short for Welsh corgi (“a type of herding dog originating from Wales, having a small body, short legs, and fox-like features such as large ears; two separate breeds are recognized: the Cardigan Welsh Corgi and the Pembroke Welsh Corgi”).
- 1966 July 14, S. M. Lampson, “Sturdy Farm Dogs from Wales”, in John Adams, editor, Country Life, volume 140, London: George Newnes […], OCLC 472261612, page 69:
- By this time the Pembrokeshire—the short-tailed corgwn—were increasing in popularity very rapidly. The Cardiganshire variety lagged behind their more numerous cousins, but, even so, almost all the larger shows of this country had classes […]
- 2015 July 27, Katharine Whitehorn, “Need we follow all the news?”, in The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, ISSN 0261-3077, OCLC 229952407, archived from the original on 9 March 2016:
- [W]hich news item do we have to worry about and have a view on? Not, presumably, the fact that the Queen is going cool on corgies; probably not how space exploration is getting on; townies can maybe skip the fates of either cows or badgers.
- 2016, Janet Vorwald Dohner, “Herding Dogs”, in Deborah Burns and Lisa H. Hiley, editors, Farm Dogs: A Comprehensive Breed Guide to 93 Guardians, Herders, Terriers, and Other Canine Working Partners, North Adams, Mass.: Storey Publishing, →ISBN, page 200, column 1:
- While larger, longer corgwn with tails were found in the lowland and hill farms of central and northern Cardiganshire, in the south a shorter, lighter corgi was more common.
-
Usage notes
- Some breed authorities prescribe the etymologically consistent Welsh plural form corgwn.[2] Nonetheless, the English plural form corgis is considerably more common.
Alternative forms
- corgy
Hyponyms
- Cardigan Welsh corgi
- Pembroke Welsh corgi
Derived terms
- borgi
- dorgi
Translations
short for Welsh corgi — See also translations at Welsh corgi
|
References
- “corgi, n.”, in OED Online
, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, June 2018; “corgi, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022. - For example, see Clifford L. B. Hubbard (1952) The Pembrokeshire Corgi Handbook: Giving the Origin and History of the Breed, Its Show Career, Its Points and Breeding (Dog Lover’s Library Series; no. 8), London: Nicholson & Watson, OCLC 58859451, page 4: “The plural of Corgi is Corgwn and not Corgis.”
Further reading
Welsh Corgi on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
Anagrams
- orgic
Dutch
Etymology
From English corgi, from Welsh corgi, a compound of cor (“dwarf”) and ci (“dog”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈkɔr.ɡi/
- Hyphenation: cor‧gi
Noun
corgi m (plural corgi's)
- corgi, Welsh corgi (dog)
Finnish
Etymology
From English corgi, from Welsh corgi, a compound of cor (“dwarf”) and ci (“dog”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈkorɡi/, [ˈko̞rɡi]
Noun
corgi
- corgi, Welsh corgi (dog)
Declension
| Inflection of corgi (Kotus type 5/risti, no gradation) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | corgi | corgit | |
| genitive | corgin | corgien | |
| partitive | corgia | corgeja | |
| illative | corgiin | corgeihin | |
| singular | plural | ||
| nominative | corgi | corgit | |
| accusative | nom. | corgi | corgit |
| gen. | corgin | ||
| genitive | corgin | corgien | |
| partitive | corgia | corgeja | |
| inessive | corgissa | corgeissa | |
| elative | corgista | corgeista | |
| illative | corgiin | corgeihin | |
| adessive | corgilla | corgeilla | |
| ablative | corgilta | corgeilta | |
| allative | corgille | corgeille | |
| essive | corgina | corgeina | |
| translative | corgiksi | corgeiksi | |
| instructive | — | corgein | |
| abessive | corgitta | corgeitta | |
| comitative | — | corgeineen | |
| Possessive forms of corgi (type risti) | ||
|---|---|---|
| possessor | singular | plural |
| 1st person | corgini | corgimme |
| 2nd person | corgisi | corginne |
| 3rd person | corginsa | |
Synonyms
- walesinpaimenkoira, walesincorgi
French
Etymology
From English corgi, from Welsh corgi, a compound of cor (“dwarf”) and ci (“dog”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /kɔʁ.ɡi/
Audio (file)
Noun
corgi m (plural corgis)
- corgi, Welsh corgi (dog)
Italian
Etymology
Borrowed from English corgi, from Welsh corgi, a compound of cor (“dwarf”) and ci (“dog”).
Noun
corgi m
- corgi, Welsh corgi (dog)
Anagrams
- grico
Spanish
Etymology
From English corgi, from Welsh corgi, a compound of cor (“dwarf”) and ci (“dog”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈkoɾɡi/ [ˈkoɾ.ɣ̞i]
- Rhymes: -oɾɡi
Noun
corgi m (plural corgis)
- corgi, Welsh corgi (dog)
Derived terms
- corgi galés
- corgi galés de Cardigan
- corgi galés de Pembroke
Welsh
Etymology
From cor (“dwarf”) + ci (“dog”) (gi is the soft mutation of ci (“dog”)).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈkɔrɡi/
- Rhymes: -ɔrɡi
Noun
corgi m (plural corgwn or corgïaid)
- corgi, Welsh corgi (dog)
- (sometimes figuratively) cur
Derived terms
- corgïan (diminutive)
Descendants
- → English: corgi
Mutation
| Welsh mutation | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| radical | soft | nasal | aspirate |
| corgi | gorgi | nghorgi | chorgi |
| Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs. | |||
References
- R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “corgi”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies