mongrel

C2+ Topic:Animals

US /ˈmʌŋɡrəl/ UK /ˈmʌŋɡrəl/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a dog or animal of mixed or indeterminate breed

The shelter was full of friendly mongrels needing homes.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a dog or animal of mixed or... mutt crossbreed hybrid curhalf-breed

Opposites

purebredthoroughbred

Word family

Derived forms mongrelizemongrelism

Etymology

From Middle English, formed from the Germanic root of mong ('mixture'), as in among / Old English gemang ('mingling'), with the diminutive/derogatory suffix -rel.

gemang Old English *mangjan Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Animals

External links

# mongrel

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈmʌŋɡrəl/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈmʌŋɡrəl/

## Meanings
1. a dog or animal of mixed or indeterminate breed

## Examples
- The shelter was full of friendly mongrels needing homes.

## Synonyms
- mutt
- crossbreed
- hybrid
- cur
- half-breed

## Antonyms
- purebred
- thoroughbred

## Derived Forms
- mongrelize
- mongrelism

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: gemang
- Root: *mangjan

## Etymology
From Middle English, formed from the Germanic root of mong ('mixture'), as in among / Old English gemang ('mingling'), with the diminutive/derogatory suffix -rel.

## AI Etymology
Mongrel comes from Middle English, formed from the Germanic root of mong ('mixture'), as in among / Old English gemang ('mingling'), with the diminutive/derogatory suffix -rel. The etymological trail includes Old English gemang and Proto-Germanic *mangjan. As a noun, mongrel means a dog or animal of mixed or indeterminate breed. The same family is visible in derived forms such as mongrelize and mongrelism.

## Topics
- Animals

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