limerick

limerick
limerick nonsense verse of five lines, 1896, perhaps from the county and city in Ireland, but if so the connection is obscure. Often (after OED's Murray) attributed to a party game in which each guest in turn made up a nonsense verse and all sang a refrain with the line "Will you come up to Limerick?" but he reported this in 1898 and earlier evidence is wanting. Or perhaps from Learic, from Edward Lear (1812-1888) English humorist who popularized the form. Earliest examples are in French, which further complicates the quest for the origin. OED's first record of the word is in a letter of Aubrey Beardsley. The place name is lit. "bare ground," from Ir. Liumneach, from lom "bare, thin." It was famous for hooks.

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

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Look at other dictionaries:

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  • Limerick — (ingl.; pronunc. [límeric]) m. Liter. Composición poética de carácter humorístico que consta de cinco versos. * * * Limerick (en irlandés: Luimneach) es una ciudad, capital del Condado de Limerick en la provincia de Munster, en el oeste de la… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Limerick — Lim er*ick (l[i^]m [ e]r*[i^]k), n. [Said to be from a song with the same verse construction, current in Ireland, the refrain of which contains the place name Limerick.] A humorous, often nonsensical, and sometimes risq[ e] poem of five anapestic …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Limerick [1] — Limerick (spr. limm ), Grafschaft der irischen Provinz Munster, südlich vom Shannon, grenzt im N. an die Grafschaft Clare, im O. an Tipperary, im S. an Cork und im W. an Kerry, umfaßt 2755 qkm (50 QM.) mit (1900) 146,018 Einw. (53 auf 1 qkm),… …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

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