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)
- noun An animal or a plant resulting from various interbreedings, especially a dog of mixed or undetermined breed.
- noun A cross between different breeds, groups, or varieties, especially a mixture that is or appears to be incongruous.
- adjective Of mixed origin or character.
Century Dictionary (5)
GNU Webster's 1913 (2)
WordNet (2)
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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."
— 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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View all »Etymologies (4)
American Heritage Dictionary (1)
- Middle English, probably from mong, mixture, from Old English gemang; see mag- in Indo-European roots.
Century Dictionary (2)
GNU Webster's 1913 (1)
WordNet
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Pronunciations
/ (mŭngˈgrəl, mŏngˈ-)/
ahd pronounces "mongrel"
by
American Heritage Dictionary