Spitz
(spɪts)
[G. (also spitzhund), special use of spitz pointed, peaked.]
A dog belonging to one of a group of northern breeds distinguished by thick fur, a pointed muzzle, pricked ears, and a tail curled over the back. Also attrib., as Spitz dog.
1842 H. Stanley Let. 18 July in N. Mitford Ladies of Alderley (1938) 38 In this town [sc. Ems] wherever you go you see a white Spitz dog with a curly tail & black eyes. 1845 Zoologist III. 1104 The prevalence of the Spitz in Europe would readily account for such a combination. 1883 Cent. Mag. Apr. 911/1 Madonna was occupied with a spitz, holding it at one minute and pulling it by the tail the next. 1897 Private Life of Queen xviii. 147 The perky little tan-coloured German Spitz-dog, ‘Marco’. a 1910 ‘O. Henry’ Rolling Stones (1912) 181 Six burglars..bore away..a five-hundred-dollar prize Spitz dog. 1948 [see laika]. 1978 Times 11 Feb. 2/4 The Japanese spitz, a small, white prick-eared creature like an undernourished Samoyed, appeared at Crufts for the first time. |