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Webster's Dictionary (1865)

Tĕr'ri-er, n.

noun

n. [O. Fr. terrier, chien terrier, from Lat. terra, Fr. terre, the earth. Cf. TARRIER.]

  1. A dog or little hound, remarkable for going into the ground after animals that burrow; Canis familiaris terrarius. Eng. Cyc.
  2. [Fr. terrier, O. Fr. terrière.] A lodge or hole where certain animals, as foxes, rabbits, badgers, and the like, secure themselves.
  3. [Cf. Lat. terere, to rub, to rub away, and terebrare, to bore.] A wimble, auger, or boring. [Obs.]
  4. [Fr. terrier, L. Lat. terrarius liber.] (Law.) (a.) Formerly, a collection of acknowledgments of the vassals or tenants of a lordship, containing the rents and services they owed to the lord, and the like. (b.) In modern usage, a book or roll in which the lands of private persons or corporations are described by their site, boundaries, number of acres, or the like.