The story
A nonce word coined by the English artist and poet Edward Lear (1812–1888) in his poem The Owl and the Pussy-cat (published 1870). It has been suggested that the word was modelled after rounceval, rouncival (“a large pea, the marrowfat”) (late 16th c.).
First known use, by meaning
- from c. 1870 A nonce word used for humorous effect.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.