Sunday, October 5

To "mong" ...

... I love the job title "Fishmonger" and I can't help but wonder what exactly it is, to "mong" a fish.

5 comments:

Pink Granite said...

Oh I know you know this but...

[Origin: bef. 1000; ME (n.); OE mangere, equiv. to mang(ian) to trade, act as a monger (≪ L mangō salesman) + -ere -er1; c. ON, OHG mangari]

Isn't it lovely to think that a word from that long ago is still in use?
;o)
- Lee

Ms Brown Mouse said...

Old words are some of the best - Mong = "to act as a Monger", exactly so!

Roo said...

Hmmm - and to be a "mong" or be calle done, is quite an old fashioned insult over here, and not very nice when you consider the derivative.

caw said...

I'd rather be a fishmonger than a fish wife - surely that would mean I'd have to marry a fish, no?

Ms Brown Mouse said...

Roo, yes, Mong is a bit of an insult round our school yards too, or was in my day (100s of years ago)
Caw - I'm the cat's mother but not the fishes wife!