pug

The word 'pug' first appeared in English in the late 16th century, referring to a type of small monkey kept as a pet, perhaps from the Dutch word for a demon or goblin. By the mid-18th century, the term was transferred to a breed of dog with a similarly compact, sturdy body and a squashed, wrinkled face reminiscent of the monkey's features. This semantic shift from a simian to a canine companion illustrates how animal names can migrate based on perceived physical resemblances. The later, 19th-century slang uses for a locomotive or a boxer further extend the core idea of something small, sturdy, and pugnacious.

The word 'pug' is a simplex word. It is a loanword, likely from the 16th or 17th century, whose precise origin is uncertain but may be connected to the name of a type of monkey or a term of endearment.