"mondegreen" meaning in English

See mondegreen in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

IPA: /ˈmɒndəɡɹiːn/ [UK], /ˈmɑndəɡɹiːn/ [US] Audio: en-us-mondegreen.ogg Forms: mondegreens [plural]
enPR: mŏnd′əgrēn Etymology: Coined by American journalist and editor Sylvia Wright in 1954 in Harper's Magazine from mishearing a line in the Scottish ballad The Bonnie Earl o' Moray: “They have slain the Earl o' Moray, / And laid him on the green”, the second line being misheard as, “And Lady Mondegreen”. Etymology templates: {{coin|en|Q18276543|in=1954|nobycat=1}} Coined by American journalist and editor Sylvia Wright in 1954 Head templates: {{en-noun}} mondegreen (plural mondegreens)
  1. (linguistics) A form of (possibly intentional) error arising from mishearing a spoken or sung phrase, possibly in a different language. Categories (topical): Linguistics Synonyms: mishearing Translations (mishearing): 空耳 (kōng'ěr) (Chinese Mandarin), 幻聽 (Chinese Mandarin), 幻听 (huàntīng) (Chinese Mandarin), mondegreen (Dutch), mama appelsap (Dutch), väärin kuuleminen (Finnish), Verhörer [masculine] (German), salah dengar (Indonesian), 空耳 (soramimi) (alt: そらみみ) (Japanese), 幻聴 (genchō) (alt: げんちょう) (Japanese), 헛들음 (heotdeureum) (Korean), 환청 (hwancheong) (alt: 幻聽) (Korean), przesłyszenie [neuter] (Polish), tiocidade [Portugal, feminine] (Portuguese), virundum [Brazil, masculine] (Portuguese), ослы́шка (oslýška) [feminine] (Russian), pomporruta [feminine] (Spanish)
    Sense id: en-mondegreen-en-noun-03RxoXQo Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, Entries with translation boxes, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries, Terms with Dutch translations, Terms with Finnish translations, Terms with German translations, Terms with Indonesian translations, Terms with Japanese translations, Terms with Korean translations, Terms with Mandarin translations, Terms with Polish translations, Terms with Portuguese translations, Terms with Russian translations, Terms with Spanish translations Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 57 43 Disambiguation of Entries with translation boxes: 63 37 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 61 39 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 56 44 Disambiguation of Terms with Dutch translations: 70 30 Disambiguation of Terms with Finnish translations: 67 33 Disambiguation of Terms with German translations: 70 30 Disambiguation of Terms with Indonesian translations: 66 34 Disambiguation of Terms with Japanese translations: 71 29 Disambiguation of Terms with Korean translations: 67 33 Disambiguation of Terms with Mandarin translations: 67 33 Disambiguation of Terms with Polish translations: 65 35 Disambiguation of Terms with Portuguese translations: 66 34 Disambiguation of Terms with Russian translations: 71 29 Disambiguation of Terms with Spanish translations: 76 24 Topics: human-sciences, linguistics, sciences Disambiguation of 'mishearing': 95 5
  2. (rare) A misunderstanding of a written or spoken phrase as a result of multiple definitions. Tags: rare
    Sense id: en-mondegreen-en-noun-uUUv1yzU
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Related terms: daffynition, folk etymology, Hobson-Jobson, soramimi Coordinate_terms: catachresis, eggcorn, malapropism

Inflected forms

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      "_dis1": "0 0",
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      "name": "coin"
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  "etymology_text": "Coined by American journalist and editor Sylvia Wright in 1954 in Harper's Magazine from mishearing a line in the Scottish ballad The Bonnie Earl o' Moray: “They have slain the Earl o' Moray, / And laid him on the green”, the second line being misheard as, “And Lady Mondegreen”.",
  "forms": [
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      "form": "mondegreens",
      "tags": [
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  "head_templates": [
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      "args": {},
      "expansion": "mondegreen (plural mondegreens)",
      "name": "en-noun"
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  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "related": [
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      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "daffynition"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "folk etymology"
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      "_dis1": "0 0",
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      "_dis1": "0 0",
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          "orig": "en:Linguistics",
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          "_dis": "63 37",
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          "_dis": "66 34",
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          "_dis": "67 33",
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        {
          "_dis": "65 35",
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          "_dis": "66 34",
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          "name": "Terms with Portuguese translations",
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          "_dis": "71 29",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Russian translations",
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        {
          "_dis": "76 24",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Spanish translations",
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          "source": "w+disamb"
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      ],
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        {
          "ref": "2006 November 18, “Feedback”, in New Scientist, archived from the original on 2016-05-24, page 218:",
          "text": "Our report of a relative who, as a child, thought the classic version of the Lord's Prayer began \"Our father, a chart in heaven, Harold be thy name\" stated that this type of mistake is known as an eggcorn. A number of readers have suggested that instances like this in which a whole phrase rather than just a word is misheard, should be called mondegreens rather than eggcorns.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2012, Gary Rosen, Unfair to Genius: The Strange and Litigious Career of Ira B. Arnstein, Oxford University Press, →ISBN:",
          "text": "The title lyric [\"Bei Mir Bistu Shein\"], the only part of the original Yiddish preserved by Cahn, was a mondegreen waiting to happen—“My Mere Bits of Shame” and “My Beer, Mr. Shane” were among the earliest recorded mishearings—but the language barrier didn't […]",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
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        "A form of (possibly intentional) error arising from mishearing a spoken or sung phrase, possibly in a different language."
      ],
      "id": "en-mondegreen-en-noun-03RxoXQo",
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        [
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        "(linguistics) A form of (possibly intentional) error arising from mishearing a spoken or sung phrase, possibly in a different language."
      ],
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        }
      ],
      "topics": [
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        "linguistics",
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      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "95 5",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "kōng'ěr",
          "sense": "mishearing",
          "word": "空耳"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 5",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "sense": "mishearing",
          "word": "幻聽"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 5",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "huàntīng",
          "sense": "mishearing",
          "word": "幻听"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 5",
          "code": "nl",
          "lang": "Dutch",
          "sense": "mishearing",
          "word": "mondegreen"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 5",
          "code": "nl",
          "lang": "Dutch",
          "sense": "mishearing",
          "word": "mama appelsap"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 5",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "mishearing",
          "word": "väärin kuuleminen"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 5",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "mishearing",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "Verhörer"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 5",
          "code": "id",
          "lang": "Indonesian",
          "sense": "mishearing",
          "word": "salah dengar"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 5",
          "alt": "そらみみ",
          "code": "ja",
          "lang": "Japanese",
          "roman": "soramimi",
          "sense": "mishearing",
          "word": "空耳"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 5",
          "alt": "げんちょう",
          "code": "ja",
          "lang": "Japanese",
          "roman": "genchō",
          "sense": "mishearing",
          "word": "幻聴"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 5",
          "code": "ko",
          "lang": "Korean",
          "roman": "heotdeureum",
          "sense": "mishearing",
          "word": "헛들음"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 5",
          "alt": "幻聽",
          "code": "ko",
          "lang": "Korean",
          "roman": "hwancheong",
          "sense": "mishearing",
          "word": "환청"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 5",
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "mishearing",
          "tags": [
            "neuter"
          ],
          "word": "przesłyszenie"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 5",
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "mishearing",
          "tags": [
            "Portugal",
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "tiocidade"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 5",
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "mishearing",
          "tags": [
            "Brazil",
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "virundum"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 5",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "oslýška",
          "sense": "mishearing",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "ослы́шка"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 5",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "mishearing",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "pomporruta"
        }
      ]
    },
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      "glosses": [
        "A misunderstanding of a written or spoken phrase as a result of multiple definitions."
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      "id": "en-mondegreen-en-noun-uUUv1yzU",
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          "multiple"
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      "raw_glosses": [
        "(rare) A misunderstanding of a written or spoken phrase as a result of multiple definitions."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "rare"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "enpr": "mŏnd′əgrēn"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈmɒndəɡɹiːn/",
      "tags": [
        "UK"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈmɑndəɡɹiːn/",
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "en-us-mondegreen.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/6/6d/En-us-mondegreen.ogg/En-us-mondegreen.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6d/En-us-mondegreen.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "Harper's Magazine"
  ],
  "word": "mondegreen"
}
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    "Pages with 1 entry",
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    "Terms with Finnish translations",
    "Terms with German translations",
    "Terms with Indonesian translations",
    "Terms with Japanese translations",
    "Terms with Korean translations",
    "Terms with Mandarin translations",
    "Terms with Polish translations",
    "Terms with Portuguese translations",
    "Terms with Russian translations",
    "Terms with Spanish translations"
  ],
  "coordinate_terms": [
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      "word": "catachresis"
    },
    {
      "word": "eggcorn"
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      "word": "malapropism"
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  "etymology_templates": [
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      "name": "coin"
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  "etymology_text": "Coined by American journalist and editor Sylvia Wright in 1954 in Harper's Magazine from mishearing a line in the Scottish ballad The Bonnie Earl o' Moray: “They have slain the Earl o' Moray, / And laid him on the green”, the second line being misheard as, “And Lady Mondegreen”.",
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          "text": "Our report of a relative who, as a child, thought the classic version of the Lord's Prayer began \"Our father, a chart in heaven, Harold be thy name\" stated that this type of mistake is known as an eggcorn. A number of readers have suggested that instances like this in which a whole phrase rather than just a word is misheard, should be called mondegreens rather than eggcorns.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2012, Gary Rosen, Unfair to Genius: The Strange and Litigious Career of Ira B. Arnstein, Oxford University Press, →ISBN:",
          "text": "The title lyric [\"Bei Mir Bistu Shein\"], the only part of the original Yiddish preserved by Cahn, was a mondegreen waiting to happen—“My Mere Bits of Shame” and “My Beer, Mr. Shane” were among the earliest recorded mishearings—but the language barrier didn't […]",
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        "(linguistics) A form of (possibly intentional) error arising from mishearing a spoken or sung phrase, possibly in a different language."
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        "(rare) A misunderstanding of a written or spoken phrase as a result of multiple definitions."
      ],
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  "sounds": [
    {
      "enpr": "mŏnd′əgrēn"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈmɒndəɡɹiːn/",
      "tags": [
        "UK"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈmɑndəɡɹiːn/",
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "en-us-mondegreen.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/6/6d/En-us-mondegreen.ogg/En-us-mondegreen.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6d/En-us-mondegreen.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "kōng'ěr",
      "sense": "mishearing",
      "word": "空耳"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "sense": "mishearing",
      "word": "幻聽"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "huàntīng",
      "sense": "mishearing",
      "word": "幻听"
    },
    {
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "sense": "mishearing",
      "word": "mondegreen"
    },
    {
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "sense": "mishearing",
      "word": "mama appelsap"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "mishearing",
      "word": "väärin kuuleminen"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "mishearing",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "Verhörer"
    },
    {
      "code": "id",
      "lang": "Indonesian",
      "sense": "mishearing",
      "word": "salah dengar"
    },
    {
      "alt": "そらみみ",
      "code": "ja",
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "roman": "soramimi",
      "sense": "mishearing",
      "word": "空耳"
    },
    {
      "alt": "げんちょう",
      "code": "ja",
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "roman": "genchō",
      "sense": "mishearing",
      "word": "幻聴"
    },
    {
      "code": "ko",
      "lang": "Korean",
      "roman": "heotdeureum",
      "sense": "mishearing",
      "word": "헛들음"
    },
    {
      "alt": "幻聽",
      "code": "ko",
      "lang": "Korean",
      "roman": "hwancheong",
      "sense": "mishearing",
      "word": "환청"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "mishearing",
      "tags": [
        "neuter"
      ],
      "word": "przesłyszenie"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "mishearing",
      "tags": [
        "Portugal",
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "tiocidade"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "mishearing",
      "tags": [
        "Brazil",
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "virundum"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "oslýška",
      "sense": "mishearing",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "ослы́шка"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "mishearing",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "pomporruta"
    }
  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "Harper's Magazine"
  ],
  "word": "mondegreen"
}

Download raw JSONL data for mondegreen meaning in English (5.6kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-11-06 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-10-02 using wiktextract (fbeafe8 and 7f03c9b). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.