doggerel
/ˈdɒɡəɹəl/adjective, noun
doggerel is spelled D-O-G-G-E-R-E-L: 8 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 16 million words in written English, the 121,279th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, doggerel means “Of a crude or irregular construction” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in doggerel?
| Letters | 8: D-O-G-G-E-R-E-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 16 million words; the 121,279th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is doggerel?
Doggerel appears about once in every 16 million words in written English, the 121,279th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce doggerel?
- UK /ˈdɒɡəɹəl/
Doggerel has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-doggerel.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of doggerel
- doggerels plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does doggerel mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Of a crude or irregular construction.
noun
- 1
A comic or humorous verse, usually irregular in measure.
- 2
Any writing of crude composition.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Doggerel in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense comic or humorous verse:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | vers de mirliton |
| German | Knittelvers |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does doggerel come from?
Probably from dog + -rel (“pejorative suffix”), akin to Dog Latin, late 14th c.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).