A Doggy Bag Was Never Really for the Dog
Doggie is an affectionate word for a dog. The doggy bag was a polite fiction that let diners take leftovers home.
Doggie is a childlike or affectionate word for a dog. The *doggy bag* is a piece of social diplomacy: American restaurants introduced it in the mid twentieth century so that diners could take leftovers home without admitting they wanted them. Everyone knew the dog was not the beneficiary, and the polite fiction made the request acceptable.
- An affectionate word for a dog. *A little doggie.*
- Doggy bag — a container for leftovers. *Ask for a doggy bag.*
- Doggy paddle — a basic swimming stroke. *Doing the doggy paddle.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | doggie | A friendly doggie. |
| Variant | doggy | A small doggy. |
| Plural | doggies | Two doggies. |
| Base | dog | A working dog. |
| Adjective | doggy | A doggy smell. |
How it is used in a sentence
- Could we have a doggy bag?For leftovers.
- He learned the doggy paddle first.Swimming.
- Dog has no known etymology.It replaced Old English *hund*.
Dog words worth knowing
- Dog — of unknown origin, replacing Old English *hund*
- Hound — the older word, now meaning a hunting dog
- Canine — the Latin-derived adjective
- Cynic — from Greek *kyon*, dog, describing a philosophical school
- Kennel — from Latin *canis*, through French
From *dog* plus the diminutive *-ie*. The origin of *dog* itself is unknown, one of the odder gaps in English etymology.
Doggie or doggy?
Both spellings are used. Doggy is more common as an adjective, doggie as an affectionate noun.
Where does the word *dog* come from?
Nobody knows. It appears in late Old English as *docga* and gradually replaced *hund*, with no established ancestor.