any of several breeds of gundog with long drooping ears, a silky coat, and formerly a docked tail
See cocker spaniel, springer spaniel, water spanieleither of two toy breeds of spaniel
See King Charles spanielan obsequiously devoted person
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
span•iel /ˈspænyəl/USA pronunciation
n. [countable]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- Dog and Cat Breedsa breed of small or medium-sized dogs usually having long, drooping ears and a long, silky coat.
span•iel
(span′yəl),USA pronunciation n.
span′iel•like′, adj.
- Dog and Cat Breedsone of any of several breeds of small or medium-sized dogs, usually having a long, silky coat and long, drooping ears.
- a submissive, fawning, or cringing person.
- Old French espaignol Spanish (dog), derivative of Espaigne Spain
- Middle English spaynel 1350–1400
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
'spaniel' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
American water spaniel
- Bichon Frise
- Blenheim spaniel
- Brittany spaniel
- English cocker spaniel
- English springer spaniel
- English toy spaniel
- Irish water spaniel
- Japanese spaniel
- King Charles spaniel
- Sussex spaniel
- Tibetan spaniel
- Welsh springer spaniel
- cavalier King Charles spaniel
- clumber spaniel
- cockapoo
- cocker
- cocker spaniel
- field spaniel
- gnaw
- papillon
- springer
- springer spaniel
- toy dog
- water spaniel
- well-bred