Mondegreen

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /ˈmÉ’ndəɡriːn/
• US IPA: /ˈmÉ‘ndəɡriːn/

Origin

Coined by Sylvia Wright in Harper's Magazine (The Death of Lady Mondegreen, Nov 1954) from a mishearing of a line in the Scottish ballad The Bonny Earl of Murray: "They have slain the Earl of Murray,
And laid him on the green" (misheard as “Lady Mondegreen”).

Noun

1. A form of error arising from mishearing a spoken or sung phrase
2. (rare) A misunderstanding of a written or spoken phrase as a result of multiple definitions.