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You are here: Home / Language / What Does the Word “Monger” Mean and Where Did the Word Fishmonger Come From?

What Does the Word “Monger” Mean and Where Did the Word Fishmonger Come From?

April 29, 2020 by Karen Hill

There are gossipmongers, warmongers, scandal-mongers, hate-mongers, and many others to whom we show extreme disrespect by adding the perceived curse monger to their action.

Yet when the word stands alone it isn’t that severe.

From the old English word mangian, mong simply means “to peddle, sell, or barter,” so a fishmonger sells fish, while a hate-monger peddles hate.

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Filed Under: Language

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

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