Etymology

mondegreen

M3O1N1D2E1G2R1E1E1N1

Today it means: A form of (possibly intentional) error arising from mishearing a spoken or sung phrase, possibly in a different language. Full definition →

First used 1954
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The story

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”.

First known use, by meaning

  • from 1954 A form of (possibly intentional) error arising from mishearing a spoken or sung phrase, possibly in a different language.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.