A dog breed or hunting dog specifically trained to chase hares, known for speed and agility in pursuing small game.
From Old English 'hara' (hare) + 'hund' (dog). Compound word describing a dog's primary hunting purpose, common in medieval hunting terminology.
Medieval hunters valued these dogs so highly that 'harehound' appears in hunting manuals from the 1500s—they were faster than hares by using strategic cuts rather than straight-line chases, a technique still studied by animal behaviorists today.
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