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What's the meaning of lapdog in this context?

Cablegate revealed that some countries cooperated with the U.S. more than others, for example. Sweden played lapdog. Austria annoyed the U.S. etc.

I looked up lapdog in the Longman dictionary but couldn't find it. Is it a newly coined word?

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Dictionary.com has your answer: dictionary.reference.com/browse/lapdog – onomatomaniak Dec 16 '11 at 7:30
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Likewise wiktionary: "(derogatory) one who is completely obedient, unquestioning, and submissive to the government or another party" but it takes an etymonline reference to get 1950 date for that usage. – jwpat7 Dec 16 '11 at 7:34
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The OED doesn't list this meaning, only the literal one! – Colin Fine Dec 16 '11 at 8:48
-1. Likewise Wikipedia and Urban Dictionary, which are the first two Google results. – Hugo Dec 16 '11 at 10:56

closed as general reference by onomatomaniak, Mehper C. Palavuzlar, jwpat7, Hugo, kiamlaluno Dec 16 '11 at 15:35

This question is too basic; it can be definitively and permanently answered by a single link to a standard internet reference source designed specifically to find that type of information. See the FAQ for guidance on how to improve it.

2 Answers

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A lap-dog is a dog small enough to sit on someone’s lap. It’s been around for more than 500 years. Used figuratively in your example, it suggests that Sweden is a small pet belonging to the United States and that it will not act aggressively against its owner.

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It's the term that's been around, not the kind of dog, I suppose? – Kris Dec 16 '11 at 11:12
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@Kris: The term could hardly exist without the dog. The OED’s earliest citation is from John Evelyn: ‘Those Lap-dogs had so in delicijs by the Ladies . . . are a pigmie sort of Spaniels.’ – Barrie England Dec 16 '11 at 11:17
I mean, they could have been something and then came to be called lap-dogs much later owing to some reason. – Kris Dec 16 '11 at 11:21
@Kris: Who knows? A dictionary can only record words as they appear in surviving texts, at least before the twentieth century. – Barrie England Dec 16 '11 at 11:25
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@Kris: Similarly, I suppose dachshunds existed long before they were called sausage dogs. – Barrie England Dec 16 '11 at 11:31
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According to Wikipedia, this term means:

The term lapdog is also used to describe a submissive person, such as a "yes" man, or an institution that can be very easily controlled

Dictionary.com has this definition:

a person who attaches himself to someone in admiration

M-W Learner's has this definition:

a weak person who is controlled by someone else

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