limerick

See also: Limerick

WOTD – 17 March 2007

English

Etymology

From the Irish town name Limerick, Irish Luimneach [ˈl̪ˠɪmʲənʲəx].

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈlɪməɹɪk/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

limerick (plural limericks)

1. A humorous, often bawdy verse of five anapaestic lines, with the rhyme scheme aabba, and typically having a 9–9–6–6–9 cadence.
   • Description of the limerick in limerick form:

     The limerick, it would appear,
     Is a verse form we owe Edward Lear;
     Two long and two short
     Lines rhymed, as was taught,
     And a fifth just to bring up the rear.

Translations

rhyming verse of five lines

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 五行打油詩／五行打油诗, 五行打油诗 (wǔháng dǎyóushī)

• Dutch: limerick (nl)
• Finnish: limerikki
• French: limerick (fr) m
• German: Limerick (de) n
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Icelandic: limra f
• Irish: luimneach m
• Japanese: リメリック (rimerikku)
• Polish: limeryk m
• Russian: ли́мерик (ru) m (límerik)
• Spanish: quintilla f

Further reading

• Limerick (poetry) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Limerick (song) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Limerick (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• rice milk