menagerie

See also: Menagerie and ménagerie

English

WOTD – 5 July 2010

Etymology

From French ménagerie, derived from ménager (“to keep house”), household. Housekeeping used to include taking care of domestic animals.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mɪˈnæd͡ʒəɹɪ/, /mɪˈnæʒəɹɪ/

• Audio (US)

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• Audio (AU)

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Noun

menagerie (plural menageries)

1. A collection of live wild animals as an exhibition historically associated with the aristocracy and considered a precursor of modern zoos.
2. The enclosure where they are kept.
   • 1949, Bruce Kiskaddon, George R. Stewart, Earth Abides:

     In Sacramento a crazed woman opened the cages of a circus menagerie for fear the animals might starve to death, and had been mauled by a lioness.

3. A diverse or miscellaneous group.
4. (obsolete, slang) The orchestra of a theatre.

Translations

collection of live wild animals on exhibition; the enclosure where they are kept

• Armenian: գազանանոց (hy) (gazananocʻ)
• Belarusian: звяры́нец m (zvjarýnjec)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 動物園／动物园 (zh) (dòngwùyuán)

• Finnish: eläintarha (fi)
• French: ménagerie (fr) f
• Georgian: სამხეცე (samxece)
• German: Menagerie (de) f
• Greek: θηριοτροφείο (el) n (thiriotrofeío)

  Ancient: θηριοτροφεῖον n (thēriotropheîon), ζωγρεῖον n (zōgreîon)

• Ido: menajerio (io)
• Italian: serraglio (it), recinto (it) m
• Latin: vīvārium n
• Macedonian: ѕверилник m (dzverilnik), менажерија f (menažerija)
• Polish: menażeria (pl) f, zwierzyniec (pl) m
• Portuguese: menagerie f, viveiro (pt) m
• Romanian: menajerie (ro) f
• Russian: звери́нец (ru) m (zverínec)
• Spanish: casa de fieras (es) f
• Swedish: menageri (sv) n
• Turkish: hayvanat bahçesi (tr)
• Ukrainian: звіри́нець (uk) m (zvirýnecʹ)
• Volapük: nimikonlet (vo)

diverse or miscellaneous group

• Finnish: sekalainen joukko
• Polish: menażeria (pl) f
• Russian: сброд (ru) m (sbrod) (disparaging)

Portuguese

Noun

menagerie f (plural menageries)

1. menagerie (collection of live wild animals on exhibition)