| Borogove | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Illustrated by John Tenniel. | |||
| Naming | |||
| Binomen | N/A | ||
| Morphology | |||
| Body type | Avian | ||
| Intelligence | |||
| Sentience | Sentient | ||
| Sapience | Non-Sapient | ||
| Ecology | |||
| Place of origin | Looking-Glass Land | ||
| Habitat | Grass fields | ||
| Locomotion | Bipedal | ||
| Status | DD | ||
| Behind the Scenes | |||
| Universe | Alice's Adventures | ||
| Created by | Lewis Carroll | ||
| Designed by | John Tenniel | ||
| “ | 'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves Did gyre and gimble in the wabe; All mimsy were the borogoves, And the mome raths outgrabe. |
” |
— "Jabberwocky" poem, first stanza
| ||
Borogoves are mysterious creatures mentioned in the first and last stanza of the poem "Jabberwocky", which Alice found in a book in the land beyond the looking-glass.
The poem contains a large number of nonsensical words, the meaning of which is unknown to Alice, although she later got help from Humpty Dumpty, who explained the meanings of the words in the first stanza. However, Humpty himself proudly admits that he habitually makes up the meanings of words, putting his explanations in questionable light at best.
Humpty Dumpty describes a Borogove as being "a thin shabby-looking bird with its feathers sticking out all round—something like a live mop". In the poem, they're described as being "mimsy", which Humpty identifies as a portmanteau of "flimsy" and "miserable".
Appearances[]
- Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There, by Lewis Carroll (1871)