K9

See also: K-9

English

Alternative forms

• K-9

Etymology

Pseudo-acronym of canine, by phonetic similarity of the letter and number names with the two syllables of canine.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈkeɪnaɪn/, (rare) /kəˈnaɪn/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈkeɪˌnaɪn/

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪnaɪn, -ænaɪn, -aɪn
• Homophone: canine
• Hyphenation: K‧9

Noun

K9 (plural K9s)

1. A trained police dog.
   • 2003, Nicholas H. Dodman, If Only They Could Speak: Stories About Pets and Their People, page 248:

     Police working dogs (K9s) often have extremely close bonds with their handlers.

   • 2003, Trevor J. Orsinger, The Firefighter's Best Friend: Lives and Legends of Chicago Firehouse Dogs, page 90:

     Originally a K9 dog for the police department, Captain was asked to resign for unknown reasons.

   • 2005, Priya Kapoor, Nandita Jaishankar, VIPs: Very Important Pets, page 71:

     Apollo, part of the New York Police Department K9 Search and Rescue team was on the scene of the disaster just 15 minutes after the disaster

   • 2006, Asa Nonami, Juliet Winters Carpenter, The Hunter: A Detective Takako Otomichi Mystery, page 134:

     The Saitama Prefectural Police Department, for example, had no K9 units of its own, and relied on contract dogs exclusively.