Etymology of the word: Dog

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Fascinating information about the word Dog:
Dog (noun) In Old English O.E. docga, a late, rare word used of a powerful breed of canine. It forced out O.E. hund (the general Germanic) by 16c. and subsequently was picked up in many continental languages (cf. Fr. dogue, Danish: dogge), but the origin remains one of the great mysteries of English etymology.

Many expressions -- a dog's life (c.1600), go to the dogs (1610s), etc. -- reflect earlier hard use of the animals as hunting accessories, not pampered pets.
In ancient times, "the dog" was the worst throw in dice (attested in Greek, Latin, where the word for "the lucky player" was "the dog-killer"), which plausibly explains the Greek word for "danger," kindynas, which appears to be "play the dog."

Slang meaning "ugly woman" is from 1930s; that of "sexually aggressive man" is from 1950s. Dog tag is from 1918. To dog-ear a book is from 1650s; dog-eared in extended sense of "worn, unkempt" is from 1894.

In a letter addressed To King Edward VI, 15th May 1546, Queen Elizabeth I, wrote the sentence below { read the whole letter by clicking on the sentence if you are interested in Tudor History and to understand the meaning of the whole sentence}
Notwithstanding, as a dog hath a day, so may I perchance have time to declare it in deeds. [Queen Elizabeth, 1546]

It is ill wakyng of a sleapyng dogge. [Heywood, 1562]

Phrase put on the dog "get dressed up" (1934) may refer back to the stiff stand-up shirt collars that in the 1890s were the height of male fashion (and were known as dog-collars at least from 1883), with reference to collars worn by dogs. The common Spanish word for "dog," perro, also is a mystery word of unknown origin, perhaps from Iberian.

Did you ever wonder where do the phrase "The Dog Days" come from?
Not from our dogs but from stars and calendars.
It is first recorded in 1538 as Dies Caniculares in Latin. In Greek it was known as Kyon Seirios. Greeks thus named time period around the heliacal rising of Sirius (q.v.), the Dog-star, noted as the hottest and most unwholesome time of the year; usually July 3 to Aug. 11. But variously calculated, depending on latitude and on whether the greater Dog-star (Sirius) or the lesser one (Procyon) is reckoned.
The heliacal rising of Sirius has shifted down the calendar with the precession of the equinoxes; in ancient Egypt c.3000 B.C.E. it coincided with the summer solstice, which was also the new year and the beginning of the inundation of the Nile. The "dog" association apparently began here (the star's hieroglyph was a dog)