dog's letter en · NOUN
Etymology
Calque of Latin littera canīna.
Meanings
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(rare) The letter R, which was trilled in Latin, imitating the sound of a snarling dog.
And in this short query the dog's letter, the r, whirred through the air, like the ricket of a pheasant rising;[…]
1858, Rosina Bulwer Lytton, The World and His Wife, Or, A Person of Consequence […], volume 2, London: Charles J. Skeet, page 19:R is the Dog's letter, and hurreth in the sound; the tongue striking the inner palate, with a trembling about the teeth.
1640, Samuel Ramsey, The English Language and English Grammar, New York and London: G.P. Putnam's Sons, translation of original by Ben Jonson, published 1892, page 168:R: SOME call this the dog's letter, upon account of its harsh and rough pronunciation;[…]
1735, Thomas Dyche, New General English Dictionary […], published 1798, page 180:
Translations (2)
la littera canīna (the letter R) · pl psia litera (the letter R)