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doggerel

Posted: Mon Nov 28, 2005 1:55 pm
by Stargzer
Poetry for the rest of us . . .

doggerel

SYLLABICATION: dog·ger·el
PRONUNCIATION: dôg'ər-əl, dŏg'ər-
VARIANT FORMS: also dog·grel ( dôg'rəl, dŏg-)
NOUN: Crudely or irregularly fashioned verse, often of a humorous or burlesque nature.
ETYMOLOGY: From Middle English, poor, worthless, from dogge, dog. See dog.
OTHER FORMS: dogger·el —ADJECTIVE

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
An example in verse
For better or worse.

Posted: Sun Dec 04, 2005 2:16 pm
by M. Henri Day
Our old friend Douglas Harper has some interesting things to say regarding the etymology of both «dog» and «doggerel»....

Henri

Posted: Sun Dec 04, 2005 3:21 pm
by gailr
firedog from this, although Bartelby doesn't say so. And "to be worked like a dog" in some medieval kitchens is described here.
-gailr

whose cats are useless around her modern home

Posted: Sun Dec 04, 2005 3:36 pm
by M. Henri Day
Cool links, as always, gailr !...

Henri

Re: doggerel

Posted: Sun Feb 17, 2013 2:14 am
by Slava
Suggested here nearly 8 years ago, and recently used in an unrelated post. I vote its time has come.

Woof!