lurcher · noun — one who lurks or lies in wait; one who watches in order to rob or betray; a poacher. It carries an Arena rating of 1532, earned across 51 head-to-head judged battles.
Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, lurcher ranks #1,544 of 17,149 for Most Vivid Words, #2,077 of 17,153 for Most Ingenious Words, #3,161 of 17,147 for Scariest Words, #3,379 of 17,135 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound.
Why “lurcher” is a great word
LURCHER — [Noun] A crossbreed dog, typically a sighthound crossed with a herding or working breed, bred for speed and stealth and historically used by poachers. From Middle English (c. 1350–1400), from the verb lurch (meaning 'to lurk, lie in wait') + the agentive suffix -er. Unlike 'greyhound' (which denotes a purebred sighthound of aristocratic pedigree) or 'mongrel' (which implies a dog of random, uncertain ancestry), a lurcher is a deliberate hybrid, a working-class artisan of the canine world. It is a shadow that slips from the hedgerow at dusk, a lean silhouette against a frost-rimed field, and a quiet, panting companion by a borrowed hearth. It is the quiet ghost of the margins, perfected for a life lived just outside the law's notice.
❧ Essay by Lexicurio’s AI · definition, etymology & citations from published sources
Etymology
From lurch + -er. See lurch (“to lurk, lie in wait”).
noun
- One who lurks or lies in wait; one who watches in order to rob or betray; a poacher.
- A type of crossbreed dog ― a cross between a sighthound and any other breed or the offspring of such crosses.e.g.““Since we are both obsessed with our dogs” — Ms. Muir has a whippet; Ms. Osborne, a lurcher — “we thought we’d try pets,” she said.” — 2009 February 5, Penelope Green, “New Book Offers Knitted Projects for Pets”, in New York Times:
- A large nymphalid butterfly, Yoma sabina, of Australia and Asia.
- A glutton; a voracious eatere.g.“Is not loue a lurcher, that taketh mens stomacks away that they cannot eate, their Spleen that they cannot laugh” — 1591, John Lyly, Endymion:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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