/lim"euhr ik/ , n.
a kind of humorous verse of five lines, in which the first, second, and fifth lines rhyme with each other, and the third and fourth lines, which are shorter, form a rhymed couplet.
[ 1895-1900; after LIMERICK; allegedly from social gatherings where the group sang "Will you come up to Limerick?" after each set of verses, extemporized in turn by the members of the party ]