mongrel

/ˈmɑŋgrəl/

/ˈmɑŋgrəl/

Other forms: mongrels

Some people have purebred dogs, but you might have a mongrel — a mutt that is part this, part that, and part the other thing (but to you he's a 100 percent dog and your best friend).

Mongrel has the Middle English root word mong, which meant "mix." If you use the word mongrel to refer to the mixed ancestry of a dog or other animal, you may or may not intend to be insulting. If you refer to a human as a mongrel, you are definitely making a pejorative comment about that person's origins. In this use, it is considered an insult.

Definitions of mongrel

1. noun

   derogatory term for a variation that is not genuine; something irregular or inferior or of dubious origin
   synonyms: bastard

   type of:

   variation

   an artifact that deviates from a norm or standard
2. noun

   an inferior dog or one of mixed breed
   synonyms: cur, mutt

   types:

   feist, fice

   a nervous belligerent little mongrel dog

   pariah dog, pie-dog, pye-dog

   ownerless half-wild mongrel dog common around Asian villages especially India

   type of:

   Canis familiaris, dog, domestic dog

   a member of the genus Canis (probably descended from the common wolf) that has been domesticated by man since prehistoric times; occurs in many breeds