mona (English)

Where does "mona" come from?

The English noun 'mona', referring to a West African monkey, was borrowed from the Spanish 'mona'[1], meaning 'monkey'[1]. The Spanish term itself derives from 'mono'[2], which traces further back through a haplographic reduction of 'maimón'[3]. This earlier Iberian form ultimately stems from the Arabic 'maymūn', meaning 'baboon' or 'mandrill'[3].

Open questions

• The Spanish word mono is derived haplographically from maimón. [3]

Full etymology tree

• mona (English), 'Cercopithecus mona, a West African monkey.'
  • borrowed mona (Spanish), 'drunkenness, fuddle'
    • derived mono (Spanish), 'cute, pretty'
      • derived maimón (Spanish), 'a type of monkey with a prehensile tail'
        • borrowed ميمون (maymūn) (Arabic), 'baboon, mandrill'

Ancestors

• mona (Spanish)

Related words

• monkey (English)
• primate (English)
• jungle (English)
• tail (English)

Sources

1. mona (English) - Wiktionary
2. mona (Spanish) - Wiktionary
3. mono (Spanish) - Wiktionary

Updated October 2026

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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris