monkey English · revision 8024

+ {{infobox|confidence=uncertain|attested=1530}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈmʌŋki/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is of uncertain or unknown origin,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(Cresswell 2021) probably from Middle Low German [[m|gml|Moneke]], or a Middle Dutch or Flemish diminutive such as Monnekin,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) ultimately from a Romance word, compare French monne, Old Italian monna and Spanish [[m|es|mona|t=ape, monkey]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) In a Low German version of Reynard the Fox (1498), Moneke is the son of Martin the Ape,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) and the word may have reached English through itinerant German entertainers.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Any animal of the group of primates other than man: 1530, in Palsgrave;^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) the 1520s in Etymonline.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ It is not found in Middle English, where [[ape]] was the usual word for all apes and monkeys.^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021) A person resembling a monkey, a mimic, is from 1589,^(OED 1989) and a playful term of contempt for young people from 1604.^(OED 1989) The verb, to mimic, is from 1859,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) to play foolish tricks from 1881,^(Etymonline) and ''to monkey with'', to meddle, by 1884.^(Etymonline) Word Origins dates ''monkey tricks'' to the mid-17th century and American ''monkeyshines'' and ''monkey business'' to the mid-19th.^(Cresswell 2021) The ''three wise monkeys'' are named from 1926.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1530 – the animal.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1589 – a mimic.^(OED 1989)

+ * mid-17th century – monkey tricks.^(Cresswell 2021)

+ * 1859 – the verb.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1884 – to monkey with.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # Any of many long-tailed [[primate|alt=primates]], excluding the apes and prosimians, such as macaques and capuchins.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A mischievous person, especially a child.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # ''(monkey with, informal)'' To fiddle or tamper with something.^(AHD)

+ # To behave in a silly or mischievous way.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[monkeyish]]

+ * [[monkeyishly]]

+ * [[monkeyishness]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[ape]]

+ * [[monkey business]]

+ * [[monkeyshine]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ In dialect a monkey was also a hod in Dorset and a mortgage in North Yorkshire.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}