manger (French)
Where does "manger" come from?
The French word 'manger' traces its roots back to the Late Latin verb 'manducāre,' which meant to chew, devour, or masticate. Over time, it traveled from Latin into Old French as 'mengier' and eventually into Middle French, shifting from the act of chewing to the general concept of eating and food itself. Today, it remains a central term in Romance languages, reflecting its vibrant history of describing the fundamental human act of consumption.
Full etymology tree
- manger (French), 'food, foodstuff'
- inherited manger (Middle French), 'to eat (consume food)'
- inherited mengier (Old French), 'alternative form of mangier'
- inherited manducāre (Latin), 'inflection of mandūcō:'
- derived mandūcus (Latin), 'glutton'
- derived mandō (Latin), 'to order, command, enjoin'
- inherited *manuðō (Proto-Italic), 'to hand over'
- compound *manus (Proto-Italic), 'hand'
- inherited *(s)meh₂- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to beckon, signal'
- compound *-ðō (Proto-Italic), 'to put'
- inherited *dʰéh₁- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to do'
- compound *manus (Proto-Italic), 'hand'
- inherited *manuðō (Proto-Italic), 'to hand over'
- suffix -ūcus (Latin), 'used to form attributive nouns from nominals, often names of plants.'
- derived mandō (Latin), 'to order, command, enjoin'
- suffix -ō (Latin), 'Used to form masculine nouns with various meanings:'
- derived mandūcus (Latin), 'glutton'
- inherited manducāre (Latin), 'inflection of mandūcō:'
- inherited mengier (Old French), 'alternative form of mangier'
- inherited manger (Middle French), 'to eat (consume food)'
Ancestors
- manger (Middle French)
- mengier (Old French)
- manduco (Latin)
Cognates and doublets
- maingé (Bourguignon)
- mainger (Champenois)
- manghjà (Corsican)
- mengiér (Franco-Provençal)
- mangiare (Italian)
- manjar (Occitan)
- minger (Picard)
- mânca (Romanian)
Updated July 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris