beagle: [15] The likeliest source of beagle appears to be Old French becgueule ‘noisy person’ (the supposition is that the dog had the term applied to it because of its loud bark). Becgueule itself was probably a compound formed from beer ‘gape, yawn’ (source also of English abash and abeyance and, in its later form bayer, of English bay ‘recessed area’) and gueule ‘throat’ (related to English gullet). => abash, abeyance, bay, bullet
late 15c., of unknown origin, possibly from French becguele "noisy person," literally "gaping throat," from bayer "open wide" (see bay (n.2)) + gueule "mouth" (see gullet).
