doggerel English · revision 2060

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈdɒɡəɹəl/ ''(UK)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It comes from Middle English ''dogerel'',^(MW Collegiate) probably from [[dog]] and the pejorative suffix [[-rel]].^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(AHD)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ As an adjective, describing comic or burlesque verse of irregular rhythm, in Chaucer's ''rym doggerel'' (about 1386).^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ How a dog came to stand for bad verse is not clear.^(Etymonline) 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.^(Etymonline) The noun, for trivial or badly made verse, is from 1630.^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)^(Etymonline) Wiktionary notes that the word first meant humorous verse but now means verse lacking art or sense.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c1386 – adjective, of loose, irregular comic verse.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1550 – adjective, burlesque.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1630 – noun, bad or trivial verse.^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1857 – a piece of doggerel.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # Crude or irregular verse, often comic or burlesque in nature.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Any crudely composed writing.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Of verse, loose and irregular in measure, or crude and poor.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[dog]]

+ * [[dog Latin]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}