"Mutt" etymology (speculative)

[Anne Gilbert]

All:

Question:  Doesn't "mutt" always refer to a "mixed-breed" dog?
Anne G
>
> A correspondent has asked about the conventional dictionary etymology of
> "mutt" (said to be from "muttonhead").
>
> Apparently Lighter does not accept such a derivation: HDAS, vol. 2, p.
629:
>
> <<mutt _n._ [orig. unkn.] 1.a. a worthless dog; mongrel. ... [Always the
> prevailing sense; there appears to be no sound semantic basis for assuming
> derivation fr. MUTTONHEAD, as asserted by var. authorities.]>>
>
> I find the "muttonhead" etymology presented without qualification or doubt
> by OED, MW3, Mathews, etc. (but not by the Century Dictionary).
>
> After a little inspection of available materials, I do not find the
> "muttonhead" etymology very plausible. If there is good evidence for it, I
> hope one of the lexicographers will be so kind as to enlighten us.
>
> Here is my alternative speculation, which seems equally plausible
> phonetically and more plausible semantically (to me anyway).
>
> I believe the central or basic sense of "mutt" was originally "ignoble or
> worthless dog" -- similar to "cur". The early dictionary citations show
the
> term referring to a dog from "1898-1900" [HDAS], to a racehorse from 1899,
> and to a person from 1899. But in the applications to horses "mutt"
appears
> similar to "dog" (as also applied to racehorses at about the same time),
> and in the early applications to persons a figurative origin with "mutt" =
> "dog" is at least reasonable. Early citations of "mutt" do not appear to
> support a sense of stupidity or foolishness, which is the usual sense of
> "muttonhead".
>
> I believe in establishing word origins it is necessary to (try to) account
> for the earliest usages, and here is the earliest one which I can find (I
> hope some earlier ones can be found):
>
> ----------
>
> _Daily Herald_ (Delphos OH), 12 March 1898: p. 3(?), col. 2ff:
>
> <<Just here a little mut thrust his head in at the door and shouted
> "Extree!" He couldn't have been more than eight years old, and was
> barefooted and bareheaded. .... The eight year old mut crossed the room
and
> stood wistfully looking into Cagg's face. .... Round the corner into
> Thompson street we found our way, two well-dressed men, and the shabby
> little mut. .... The mut burst in with a loud yell. ....>>
>
> ----------
>
> Here the mut is a poor boy selling newspapers. "Mut" would seem to be like
> "guttersnipe" or "ragamuffin". Certainly "muttonhead" cannot serve here
and
> it is not close in sense or flavor. I speculate that "mut" here is a
> figurative development from the sense "low-class dog" which is still
> prevalent today.
>
> Well, if not from "muttonhead" then whence "mutt"?
>
> What about "mutton dog"?
>
> What is a mutton dog? It's a sheep-killing dog. Mutton dogs, along with
> other antisocial dogs, are (or were) killed routinely. Likely "mutton dog"
> was generalized to a derogatory term for a scruffy feral or semi-feral dog
> sometimes.
>
> ----------
>
> DARE, vol. 3, p. 745:
>
> <<mutton hound n 1968 DARE (Qu. J2, .. Joking or uncomplimentary words  ..
> for dogs) Inf WV1, Mutton hounds--kill sheep; WV13, Mutton hound.>>
>
> ----------
>
> _Indiana Weekly Messenger_ (Indiana PA), 16 Feb. 1881: p. 3(?), col. 3:
>
> <<ERIE COUNTY can point with pride to the work of her mutton dogs in 1880.
>  From a long official list in the Observer we condense the following: the
> number of sheep killed during the year was 434; the number damages, [sic]
> 261. The amount paid to the owners of the sheep, out of the fund raised by
> the dog tax, was $2,439 55. .... Erie County should get up a bench show of
> mutton dogs.>>
>
> ----------
>
> _Indiana Democrat_ (Indiana PA), 16 March 1882: p. 3(?), col. 1:
>
> <<There is considerable variation in the price of sheep in Mahoning
county,
> Ohio. On the books of the Assessor they are valued at $1.50 per head, but
> when the mutton dog kills them the price advances to six and seven dollars
> per head.>>
>
> ----------
>
> _Daily Gazette and Bulletin_ (Williamsport PA), 23 Sep. 1887: p. 2, col.
2:
>
> <<Last month's sheep bill ran up to .... The mutton dogs must have lived
> high during August.>>
>
> ----------
>
> In summary I propose the (still speculative) etymology "mutt" < "mutton
> dog" (and/or possibly "mutton hound") as more likely than the (apparently
> speculative) dictionary derivation "mutt" < "muttonhead". Does anyone have
> a cogent counter-argument? Is/are there additional data which would favor
> the "muttonhead" derivation, or some other possibility?
>
> -- Doug Wilson