mongrel
/ˈmɑŋ.ɡɹəl/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.65 in modern English
10
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "That dog is a mongrel; who knows what breed it could be!"
- "The natives of Banda are very much mixed, and it is probable that at least three-fourths of the population are mongrels, in various degrees of Malay, Papuan, Arab, Portuguese, and Dutch. The first two form the bases of the larger portion, and the dark skins, pronounced features, and more or less frizzly hair of the Papuans preponderates."
- ""Yanto bloody Evans!" Jack stuttered with rage. "Yanto bloody Evans! That... that... bloody mongrel! D'you know who he is? He's the one who knocked me back for a bit of extra timber before the roof fell in on me!""
- "But somebody's got to tell these mums and dads why their kids died, why this mongrel thinks he can wipe them out like a dirty rag."
- "English spelling is often regarded as confusing and unpredictable due to the mongrel nature of that language."
- "a mongrel dog"
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”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈmɑŋ.ɡɹəl/
- British English: /ˈmʌŋ.ɡɹəl/
Usage
- Derogatory
- Offensive
- British usage
- Slang
- Australian usage