What does dogger mean?
A dogger was a type of small, stoutly built sailing vessel with two masts, developed in the Netherlands and widely used for fishing — particularly for cod — in the North Sea from around the seventeenth century onward. The boats were broad-beamed and seaworthy, well suited to the rough conditions of the open North Sea, and they gave their name to the Dogger Bank, the vast shallow sandbank east of Britain that became one of Europe's richest fishing grounds. Today the common noun survives mainly in maritime history and historical fiction, but the derived place-name remains very much alive: 'Dogger' is one of the named sea areas in the British Shipping Forecast, making the word a familiar fixture for radio listeners despite the vessel itself having long vanished from the seas. It is a distinctly nautical, historical term.
nounA dogger is a small, two-masted sailing vessel of Dutch origin, historically used for fishing in the North Sea, especially for cod. The word also appears in the proper name 'Dogger Bank', the large shallow sandbank in the North Sea where such vessels famously fished.
- A two-masted Dutch-style fishing vessel used chiefly in the North Sea, especially for cod fishing.
- In the compound proper noun 'Dogger Bank': the extensive shallow sandbank in the central North Sea, an important fishing ground.
"The old dogger set out from the Dutch coast each morning to fish the shallow waters of the North Sea."
"By the eighteenth century, doggers from the Low Countries dominated the cod fisheries of the North Sea."
"The shipping forecast warned of gales across Viking, North Utsire, and Dogger."
Standard regular plural.
"Dozens of doggers once worked the waters over the Dogger Bank each season."
The Dogger Bank, named after these sturdy little Dutch fishing boats, became so famous that its name is now used in the shipping forecast and even lent itself to the WWI naval Battle of Dogger Bank.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of dogger
The word 'dogger' comes from the Dutch 'dogger', the term for this type of fishing boat, and first appeared in English usage in the seventeenth century as Dutch herring and cod fisheries expanded into the North Sea. The Dogger Bank took its name directly from the boats that worked it. The ultimate origin of the Dutch word itself is uncertain.
How dogger is actually used
The common noun 'dogger' is now rare and largely historical or nautical in register, surviving mainly in maritime history contexts. Most modern encounters with the word come through the proper name 'Dogger Bank', familiar from the BBC Shipping Forecast.
Easily confused with dogger
'Doggerel' refers to comically crude or irregular verse, while a 'dogger' is a type of fishing boat.