Mondegreen definition

mŏndə-grēn, môn-
A series of words that result from the mishearing or misinterpretation of a statement or song lyric. For example, I led the pigeons to the flag for I pledge allegiance to the flag.
noun
0
0
A form of error arising from mishearing a spoken or sung phrase.
noun
0
0
(rare) A misunderstanding of a written or spoken phrase as a result of multiple definitions.
noun
0
0
Advertisement

Other Word Forms

Noun

Singular:
mondegreen
Plural:
mondegreens

Origin of mondegreen

  • After (Lady) Mondegreen a misinterpretation of the line (hae laid) him on the green from the song “The Bonny Earl of Murray”

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • Coined by Sylvia Wright in Harper's Magazine (The Death of Lady Mondegreen, Nov 1954) from a mishearing of a line in the Scottish ballad The Bonny Earl of Murray: "They have slain the Earl of Murray, / And laid him on the green" (misheard as “Lady Mondegreen").

    From Wiktionary