You won’t find the word in any of the breed’s standards, and it was a marvel we came across it at all, but we delight in finding old terms used “back in the day” to describe our various breeds, and we couldn’t wait to share this one with you.

Hoydendish.

Historically speaking, the word “hoyden” or “hoydendish” was used to describe a high-spirited, bold, boisterous, or saucy girl, but the passage in which we found the word came from a dusty, falling-apart-old-book on terriers, and specifically, from a paragraph about the Irish Terrier.  When one reads the actual AKC standard for the breed, one can see how perfect this word is for the breed:  “It is of the utmost importance that the Irish Terrier show fire and animation. There is a heedless, reckless pluck about the Irish Terrier which is characteristic, and which, coupled with the headlong dash, blind to all consequences, with which he rushes at his adversary, has earned for the breed the proud epithet of “Daredevil…”

A good word for this breed, right?

Image: Irish Terrier by Peggy Rogers of 1GalleryAbove is available here