Wiktionary:Etymology scriptorium/2010/June

Pinscher

There is widely held myth about the etymology of pinscher dog breeds, that the word comes from the German Pinscher (de:Pinscher), and that in German it means biter.

Another idea indicates the reverse, that the German word is taken from the English word, which refers to the ears of the breeds which are often docked, per Online Etymology Dictionary. I doubt that this is correct.

Yet another hypothesis holds that the German word is either taken from the English word pinch or the French word pincer (fr:pincer). It describes the restrained biting action that the dogs use when catching rodents or biting people. See the German Wikipedia on Pinscher breeds. This seems most likely to me, but my opinion is pointless here if this receives input from a native German speaking person. ~ heyzeuss 04:26, 11 June 2010 (UTC)

OED revised the entry in last March: "< German Pinscher (a1832), of uncertain origin.

A derivation [from] Pinzgau, the name of a region in north-western Austria, has been suggested, although this cannot be confirmed (compare German -er [link to entry def.]).

An alternative suggestion links the term with PINCH v., on account of the dog's clipped ears and tail, but this seems unlikely as there is no parallel for the dog's name in English."

Circeus 21:06, 5 July 2010 (UTC)