mongrel

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No wonder that Dorothy Thompson once referred to "that glorious and imperial mongrel, the English language" and that the poet Carl Sandburg once proclaimed: "The English language hasn't got where it is by being pure."

View all »Definitions (12)

American Heritage Dictionary (3)

  1. noun An animal or a plant resulting from various interbreedings, especially a dog of mixed or undetermined breed.
  2. noun A cross between different breeds, groups, or varieties, especially a mixture that is or appears to be incongruous.
  3. adjective Of mixed origin or character.

View all » Examples

  • No wonder that Dorothy Thompson once referred to "that glorious and imperial mongrel, the English language" and that the poet Carl Sandburg once proclaimed: "The English language hasn't got where it is by being pure." —  VERBATIM: The Language Quarterly Vol IX No 1
  • Nor was the one who followed them, never stopping, closing the gap between. —  The Boat of a Million Years
  • 'Your loyalty to this mongrel is well documented, Nangi-san.' —  The White Ninja
  • But even here the thoroughbred is often more highly prized than the mongrel, which is as tactful an outlet for racialism as any. —  An Autobiography
  • Carlos was a true mongrel, and gloried in it. —  The Legacy of Heorot
 

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Mongrel has been looked up 440 times, favorited once, listed 20 times, commented on 9 times, and has a Scrabble score of 10.

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View all »Etymologies (4)

American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Middle English, probably from mong, mixture, from Old English gemang; see mag- in Indo-European roots.

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Pronunciations

/ (mŭngˈgrəl, mŏngˈ-)/
ahd pronounces "mongrel"
by American Heritage Dictionary

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Occurrences of the word "mongrel" per million words:

Chart?cht=lc&chs=300x180&chg=14

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