What is "limerick"

Limerick \Lim"er*ick\ (l[i^]m"[~e]r*[i^]k), n. [Said to be from a song with the same verse construction, current in Ireland, the refrain of which contains the place name Limerick.] A humorous, often nonsensical, and sometimes risq['e] poem of five anapestic lines, of which lines 1, 2, and 5 are of three feet, and rhyme, and lines 3 and 4 are of two feet, and rhyme.

Note: It often begins with "There once was a . . ." or "There was a . . ."; as

There was a young lady, Amanda, Whose Ballades Lyriques were quite fin de Si[`e]cle, I deem But her Journal Intime Was what sent her papa to Uganda.

nonsense verse of five lines, 1896, perhaps from the county and city in Ireland, but if so the connection is obscure. Often (after OED's Murray) attributed to a party game in which each guest in turn made up a nonsense verse and all sang a refrain with the line "Will you come up to Limerick?" but he reported this in 1898 and earlier evidence is wanting. Or perhaps from Learic, from Edward Lear (1812-1888) English humorist who popularized the form. Earliest examples are in French, which further complicates the quest for the origin. OED's first record of the word is in a letter of Aubrey Beardsley. The place name is literally "bare ground," from Irish Liumneach, from lom "bare, thin." It was famous for hooks.\n\nThe limerick may be the only traditional form in English not borrowed from the poetry of another language. Although the oldest known examples are in French, the name is from Limerick, Ireland. John Ciardi suggests that the Irish Brigade, which served in France for most of the eighteenth century, might have taken the form to France or developed an English version of a French form. ... The contemporary limerick usually depends on a pun or some other turn of wit. It is also likely to be somewhat suggestive or downright dirty."

[Miller Williams, "Patterns of Poetry," Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University, 1986]

n. A humorous, often bawdy verse of five anapestic lines, with the rhyme scheme ''aabba'', and typically has a 9–9–6–6–9 cadence.

Limerick is a city in Ireland. It may also refer to:

• Limerick (poetry)
• Limerick (song)

A limerick is a form of poetry in five-line, predominantly meter with a strict rhyme scheme (AABBA), which is sometimes obscene with humorous intent. The third and fourth lines are usually shorter than the other three. The following example is a limerick of unknown origin:

The form appeared in England in the early years of the 18th century. It was popularized by Edward Lear in the 19th century, although he did not use the term. Gershon Legman, who compiled the largest and most scholarly anthology, held that the true limerick as a folk form is always obscene, and cites similar opinions by Arnold Bennett and George Bernard Shaw, describing the clean limerick as a "periodic fad and object of magazine contests, rarely rising above mediocrity". From a folkloric point of view, the form is essentially transgressive; violation of taboo is part of its function. Lear is unusual in his creative use of the form, satirising without overt violation.

Limerick (; ) is a city in county Limerick, Ireland. It is located in the Mid-West Region and is also part of the province of Munster. Limerick City and County Council is the local authority for the city. The city lies on the River Shannon, with the historic core of the city located on King's Island, which is bounded by the Shannon and the Abbey River. Limerick is also located at the head of the Shannon Estuary where the river widens before it flows into the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 95,854 (2011 census), Limerick is the third most populous city in the state, and the fourth most populous city on the island of Ireland.

The "Limerick" is a traditional humorous drinking song with many obscene verses. The tune usually used for sung limericks is traditionally " Cielito Lindo," with the words arranged in the form of a limerick.

Limerick was a parliamentary constituency represented in Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Irish parliament or Oireachtas, from 2011 to 2016. The method of election was the single transferable vote form of proportional representation (PR-STV). Another constituency of the same name existed between 1923 and 1948.