Manger Meaning
/ˈmeɪ̯n.d͡ʒəː/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounA trough in a stable or barn for animals to eat from.
nounA section of a bow of a ship partitioned from the hawsehole to keep water out.
Sentence Examples
Don't be a dog in the manger.
We sat in the Strasbourg salle-à-manger arguing the question for half an hour.
Tom acts like a dog in the manger.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
The farmer filled the wooden ____ with fresh hay for his hungry horses.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The baby animal was sleeping peacefully in the ____, which was filled with fresh and soft hay earlier.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English manger, from Old French mangeoire, menjoere, from mangier (“to eat”) (modern French manger). Cognate with Galician manxadoira, Italian mangiatoia, Occitan manjadoira, French mangeoire.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"A Churliſh Envious Curr vvas gotten into a Manger, and there lay Growling and Snarling to keep the Horſes from their Provender. The Dog Eat None himſelf, and yet rather Ventur'd the Starving his Own Carcaſe then he would ſuffer any thing elfe to be the Better for't."
— 1692, Roger L’Estrange, “[The Fables of Æsop, &c.] Fab[le] LXXVI. A Dog in a Manger.”, in Fables, of Æsop and Other Eminent Mythologists: […], London: […] R[ichard] Sare, […], →OCLC, page 75:
"It was the Winter wilde.
While the Heav’n-born-childe,
All meanly wrapt in the rude manger lies:
Nature in aw to him
Had doff't her gawdy trim,
With her great Maſter ſo to ſympathize:
It was no ſeaſon then for her
To wanton with the Sun her luſty Paramour."
— 1646 (indicated as 1645), John Milton, “On the Morning of Christs Nativity”, in Poems of Mr. John Milton, […], London: […] Ruth Raworth for Humphrey Mosely, […], →OCLC, page 2:
"Though I was close by I could not fully comprehend the whole manœuvre. The captain was head and shoulders immersed in the filthy trough, which, uncleaned, was taken from the manger, that part of the main deck directly under the forecastle and filled with salt water."
— 1838, Edward Howard, Frederick Marryat, chapter XLIII, in Rattlin, the Reefer:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The farmer filled the wooden ____ with fresh hay for his hungry horses.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The baby animal was sleeping peacefully in the ____, which was filled with fresh and soft hay earlier.