[Elamur Dictionary](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/limerick/)

[dictionaries](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [English](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/) / [L](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/l/) / limerick

# limerick

noun (a limerick, limericks); proper noun (Limerick — a place)

«limerick» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. A limerick is a short, funny poem of five lines, with lines 1, 2 and 5 rhyming together and lines 3 and 4 rhyming together (AABBA). [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/limerick/#m1)
2. (place) Limerick is a city and county in Ireland. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/limerick/#m2)

### In the lessons

In English and poetry lessons, pupils read Edward Lear's limericks and write their own, often starting «There once was a…». They practise rhyme scheme (AABBA) and rhythm: longer lines 1, 2, 5 and shorter lines 3, 4. In geography, Limerick is a city on the River Shannon in Ireland. Phrases: «write a limerick», «a silly limerick», «rhyme scheme AABBA».

### Examples

- There once was a cat from Peru, / who dreamed he was eating a shoe. / He woke with a fright, / in the middle of the night, / and found that his dream had come true. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/limerick/#x1)
- Edward Lear wrote many limericks. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/limerick/#x2)
- A limerick has five lines. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/limerick/#x3)
- The rhyme scheme of a limerick is AABBA. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/limerick/#x4)
- Our class wrote limericks about our pets. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/limerick/#x5)
- Limerick is a city in Ireland on the River Shannon. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/limerick/#x6)

### Note

Small l for the poem, capital L for the city. Limericks are meant to be silly; some grown-up ones are rude, so school ones are chosen carefully. Count: 5 lines, 3 long and 2 short.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «limerick» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/limerick/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«limerick» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/limerick.html) on Mova free.