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doggerel

Etymology and origin of the English word doggerel

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈdɒɡəɹəl/ (UK)[1]

Etymology

It comes from Middle English dogerel,[2] probably from dog and the pejorative suffix -rel.[3][2][4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

As an adjective, describing comic or burlesque verse of irregular rhythm, in Chaucer's rym doggerel (about 1386).[6][3]

Semantic evolution

How a dog came to stand for bad verse is not clear.[3] Etymonline suggests a hint of puppyish clumsiness, of something fit only for dogs, or the general sense of dog as mean and contemptible in Middle English.[3] The noun, for trivial or badly made verse, is from 1630.[6][2][3] Wiktionary notes that the word first meant humorous verse but now means verse lacking art or sense.[1]

Timeline

  • c1386 – adjective, of loose, irregular comic verse.[6][3]
  • 1550 – adjective, burlesque.[6]
  • 1630 – noun, bad or trivial verse.[6][2]
  • 1857 – a piece of doggerel.[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. Crude or irregular verse, often comic or burlesque in nature.
  2. Any crudely composed writing.

Adjective

  1. Of verse, loose and irregular in measure, or crude and poor.
  • dog
  • dog Latin

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  3. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
  5. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  6. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
Cite this entry

“Doggerel.” Etymologically, 15 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/doggerel. Accessed 15 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·