mongrel
UK /ˈmʌŋ.ɡɹəl/ · US /ˈmɑŋ.ɡɹəl/ noun, adjective
Forms mongrels
- noun A dog with a lineage of two or more breeds. “That dog is a mongrel; who knows what breed it could be!”
- noun (derogatory, offensive, ethnic slur) A person of mixed race.
- noun (slang, UK, Ireland, Commonwealth) A thuggish, obnoxious, or contemptible person; (often preceded by "poor") a pitiable person.
- noun (slang, Australia) An erect penis; an erection.
- adjective Of mixed breed, nature, or origin; of or like a mongrel. “English spelling is often regarded as confusing and unpredictable due to the mongrel nature of that language.”
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle English mongrel, equivalent to mong (“mixture”) + -rel (pejorative diminutive); from Old English ġemang (“mingling”) (whence Modern English among), from Proto-Germanic *mang- (“mix; mixture”).
Webster’s 1913
- noun The progeny resulting from a cross between two breeds, as of domestic animals; anything of mixed breed. Drayton.
- adjective Not of a pure breed.
- adjective Of mixed kinds; as, mongrel language.
Etymology [Prob. shortened fr. mongrel, and akin to AS. mengan to mix, and E. mingle. See Mingle.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “mongrel”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details