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Peddlers (especially fish merchants) have been called mongers for more than 1000 years. The term traces to a Latin noun meaning "trader." Initially, it was an honorable term, but every profession has its bad apples, and the snake-oil salesmen of the bunch gave monger a bad reputation. By the middle of the 16th century, the term often implied that a merchant was dishonorable and contemptible. Nowadays, monger is typically appended to another word to identify a trader of a particular type. Some combinations (such as fishmonger) suggest respectable commerce, whereas others (such as rumormonger, scandalmonger, and hypemonger) imply that a person is trading or spreading information in a careless or deceptive manner.
Examples of monger in a Sentence
Emily Farris, Bon Appetit Magazine, 18 June 2025
While the streets of Chinatown, with fish mongers, grocers, and myriad retailers displaying wares pouring into the sidewalks, offer a glimpse into the lifestyle of Chinese-Americans, Holton reveals the quotidian curiosities of interior existence.
—Natasha Gural, Forbes.com, 11 June 2025
Leonard Greene, New York Daily News, 29 June 2025
Opponents of these new laws unsuccessfully engaged in fear mongering tactics designed to stoke public anxiety.
—Natasha Dartigue, Baltimore Sun, 18 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for monger
Cite this Entry
“Monger.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/monger. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.
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