beagle
English · Español · Français · Deutsch · Português · Thesaurus
AI In plain words
Writing a short explanation…
Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.
beagle¹
- /ˈbiːɡəl/
- [ˈb̥iːɡəɫ]
Rhymes with -iːɡəl
Where it comes from
Inherited from Middle English *begel (attested in the plural begles), of uncertain origin. Possibly from Middle French beegueule (“one who keeps their mouth open”), whence modern French bégueule (“a colloquial insult said to women of low status and accused of stupidity, who always have their mouths gaped or open; a prude”); from Old French beer, bayer (“to gape, gawk”) + Old French gueule (“gullet”). The modern French bigle (“beagle”) however is a borrowing from the English.
Alternatively, a modification of Middle English bedel (“beadle”) in the sense of "constable, detective". The change of /t/, /d/ to /k/, /ɡ/ before /l/ is common; compare hurkle, variant of hurtlen (“to hurtle”), and in Modern English, huckleberry, turkle (“turtle”), and stickle.
noun beagles
- A small short-legged smooth-coated scenthound, often tricolored and sometimes used for hunting hares. Its friendly disposition makes it suitable as a family pet.
- A person who snoops on others; a detective. […]whereas burying a body in the wooded area beyond the backyard was the quickest way to make a Nassau County Police Department beagle look good.
- A bailiff.
- A small kind of shark.
verb beagles · beagling · beagled
- To hunt with beagles. […] reading men who beagled for fresh air and exercise, impecunious hunting men who beagled for economy[…]
- To search. […]Pope clapped his hand to his forehead and beagled like a maniac; he had clean forgotten Thorofare Gap.
Beagle²
proper noun Beagles
- A surname.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: basset, harehound, basset hound, bloodhound, bedlington terrier, foxhound, harrier, talbot, keeshound, working terrier, hound, deerhound, minkhound, terrier, afghan hound, beaver
Translations
Talk about this word "beagle." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/beagle. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. beagle. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/beagle "beagle." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/beagle.Cite this
@misc{beagle_2026,
title = {beagle},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/beagle},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
