Old English Bulldog The word 'Mastiff' was eventually dropped when describing these smaller Mastiffs, as the Mastiff proper was found too slow for bull-baiting. Eventually, the Greyhound was crossed into the breed, increasing the Mastiff's speed without losing the breed's ferocity. This step reduced the Old English Bulldog's size and weight, with the Greyhound's features seen in specimens of that time. Two other recognized members of the breed can be seen in the 1817 painting "Crib and Rosa", with Rosa exemplifying the form and size of the ideal type of Old English Bulldog, albeit deficient in wrinkles about the head and neck and
Old English phonology well, and was best considered an allophone of , occurring only after a nasal or when geminated. But after became word-initially in Old English, it makes sense to consider the stop the basic form and the fricative the allophone. The evidence for the allophone after front vowels is indirect, as it is not indicated in the orthography. Nevertheless, the fact that there was historically a fronting of to and of to after front vowels makes it very likely. Moreover, in late Middle English, sometimes became (e.g. "tough", "cough"), but only after back vowels, never after front vowels. This is explained