monkey (n.) Look up monkey at Dictionary1520s, likely from an unrecorded Middle Low German *moneke or Middle Dutch *monnekijn, a colloquial word for monkey, originally a diminutive of some Romanic word, cf. French monne (16c.); Middle Italian monnicchio, from Old Italian monna; Spanish mona ape, monkey. In a 1498 Low German version of the popular medieval beast story Roman de Renart (Reynard the Fox), Moneke is the name given to the son of Martin the Ape; transmission of the word to English might have been via itinerant entertainers from the German states. The Old French form of the name is Monequin (recorded as Monnekin in a 14c. version from Hainault), which could be a diminutive of some personal name, or it could be from the general Romanic word, which may be ultimately from Arabic maimun monkey, literally auspicious, a euphemistic usage because the sight of apes was held by the Arabs to be unlucky [Klein]. The word would have been influenced in Italian by folk etymology from monna woman, a contraction of ma donna my lady. Monkey has been used affectionately for child since c.1600. As a type of modern popular dance, it is attested from 1964. Monkey business attested from 1883. Monkey suit fancy uniform is from 1886. Monkey wrench is attested from 1858; its figurative sense of something that obstructs operations is from the notion of one getting jammed in the gears of machinery (cf. spanner in the works). To make a monkey of someone is attested from 1900. To have a monkey on ones back be addicted is 1930s narcotics slang, though the same phrase in the 1860s meant to be angry. There is a story in the Sinbad cycle about a tormenting ape-like creature that mounts a mans shoulders and wont get off, which may be the root of the term. In 1890s British slang, to have a monkey up the chimney meant to have a mortgage on ones house. The three wise monkeys (see no evil, etc.) are attested from 1926.
Posted on: Fri, 15 Nov 2013 18:16:10 +0000
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