Word of the Day : May 8, 2018

menagerie \muh-NAJ-uh-ree\ noun

Definition

1 a : a place where animals are kept and trained especially for exhibition

b : a collection of wild or foreign animals kept especially for exhibition

2 : a varied mixture

Did You Know?

Back in the days of Middle French, ménagerie meant "the management of a household or farm" or "a place where animals are tended." By the late 1600s, English speakers had adopted the word but dropped its housekeeping aspects, applying it specifically to the places where circuses and other exhibitions kept show animals. Later, menagerie was generalized to refer to any varied mixture, especially one that includes things that are strange or foreign to one's experience.

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Aired May 8, 2018

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