English

Alternative forms

• doggrel

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

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

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 Microsoft's Encarta World English Dictionary, North American Edition (2007)
• "doggerel" in Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary (Cambridge University Press, 2007)
• “doggerel” in the Compact Oxford English Dictionary (Oxford University Press, 2007)
• Oxford English Dictionary, second edition (1989)
• Random House Webster's Unabridged Electronic Dictionary (1987-1996)