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doggerel

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dog⋅ger⋅el

  [daw-ger-uhl, dog-er-]
Use doggerel in a Sentence
–adjective
1. (of verse)
a. comic or burlesque, and usually loose or irregular in measure.
b. rude; crude; poor.
–noun
2. doggerel verse.
Also, dog⋅grel  [daw-gruhl, dog-ruhl] .

Origin:
1350–1400; ME; see dog, -rel; cf. dog Latin
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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dog·ger·el   (dô'gər-əl, dŏg'ər-)   
n.  Crudely or irregularly fashioned verse, often of a humorous or burlesque nature.

[From Middle English, poor, worthless, from dogge, dog; see dog.]
dog'ger·el adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

doggerel 
1277 (as a surname, 1249), the root word probably from dog, applied to bad poetry perhaps with a suggestion of puppyish clumsiness, or being only fit for dogs.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Encyclopedia

doggerel

a low, or trivial, form of verse, loosely constructed and often irregular, but effective because of its simple mnemonic rhyme and loping metre. It appears in most literatures and societies as a useful form for comedy and satire. It is characteristic of children's game rhymes from ancient times to the present and of most nursery rhymes.

Learn more about doggerel with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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