terrier

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
terrier1 /ˈtɛrɪə/

▶noun

• 1 a small dog of a breed originally used for turning out foxes and other animals from their earths.

• 2 a tenacious or eager person.

• 3 (Terrier) Brit. informal a member of the Territorial Army.

– origin ME: from OFr. (chien) terrier ‘earth (dog)’, from med. L. terrarius, from L. terra ‘earth’.

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
terrier2 /ˈtɛrɪə/

▶noun historical a register of the lands belonging to a landowner.

■ an inventory of property or goods.

– origin C15: from OFr. terrier, from med. L. terrarius (liber) ‘(book) of land’, from L. terra ‘earth’.