doggerel

English

Wikipedia

Alternative forms

• doggrel

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /ˈdɒɡərəl/

Adjective

doggerel (not comparable)

1. (poetry) Of a crude or irregular construction. (Originally applied to humorous verse, but now to verse lacking artistry or meaning.)
   • 1678, John Dryden, "Prologue to Limberham," lines 1-4,

     True wit has seen its best days long ago;

     It ne'er look'd up, since we were dipp'd in show:

     When sense in doggerel rhymes and clouds was lost,

     And dulness flourish'd at the actors' cost.

2. (poetry) a comic or humorous verse, usually irregular in measure

Translations

of a crude or irregular construction

• Icelandic: illa kveðinn (is) m, stirðkveðinn (is) m

comic or humorous verse

• Icelandic: (of humorous style and irregular construction) kímilegur í stíl og óreglulegur að formi til (is)

Noun

doggerel (plural doggerels)

1. A doggerel poem or verse.
   • 1895, Stephen Crane,The Red Badge of Courage, ch. 8,

     As he marched he sang a bit of doggerel in a high and quavering voice:

     "Sing a song 'a vic'try,

     A pocketful 'a bullets,

     Five an' twenty dead men

     Baked in a—pie."

Translations

doggerel poem or verse

• German: Knittelvers (de) m
• Icelandic: leirburður (is) m, hnoð (is) n, leirrensli (is) n, lélegur kveðskapur (is) m, lélegur skáldskapur (is) m, vondur kveðskapur (is) m

• Volapük: lupoedot (vo)

References

• “doggerel” in An American Dictionary of the English Language, by Noah Webster, 1828.
• doggerel in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• “doggerel” in Dictionary.com Unabridged, v1.0.1, Lexico Publishing Group, 2006.
• "doggerel" in Encarta® World English Dictionary [North American Edition] © & (P)2007 Microsoft Corporation.
• "doggerel" in Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary © Cambridge University Press 2007.
• "doggerel" in Compact Oxford English Dictionary, © Oxford University Press, 2007.
• Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., 1989.
• Random House Webster's Unabridged Electronic Dictionary, 1987-1996.