clerihew

cler·i·hew

C c

Transcription

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- UK Pronunciation
- UK IPA
- [kler-uh-hyoo]
- /ˈklɛr əˌhyu/
- /ˈkle.rɪ.hjuː/

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [kler-uh-hyoo]
- /ˈklɛr əˌhyu/

Definitions of clerihew word

noun clerihew a form of comic or satiric verse, consisting of two couplets of metrically irregular lines, containing the name of a well-known person 3
noun clerihew a humorous, quasi-biographical poem made up of two rhymed couplets with lines of varying length and meter 3
noun clerihew a light verse form, usually consisting of two couplets, with lines of uneven length and irregular meter, the first line usually containing the name of a well-known person. 1
noun clerihew A short comic or nonsensical verse, typically in two rhyming couplets with lines of unequal length and referring to a famous person. 1
noun clerihew A rhyme of four lines, usually regarding a person mentioned in the first line. 0

See all 5 definitions of clerihew

Information block about the term

Origin of clerihew

First appearance:

before 1925

One of the 11% newest English words

1925-30; named after E. Clerihew Bentley (1875-1956), English writer, its inventor

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Clerihew

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

Full grammatical hierarchy of Clerihew

clerihew popularity

A pretty common term. Usually people know it’s meaning, but prefer to use a more spread out synonym. About 50% of English native speakers know the meaning and use word.

According to our data about 52% of words is more used. This is a rare but used term. It occurs in the pages of specialized literature and in the speech of educated people.

clerihew usage trend in Literature

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