Moooon-Kay apposed to Mun-key?
2006-06-23 17:44:55 · 10 answers · asked by yarbleman 2 in Local Businesses ➔ United States ➔ Washington, D.C.
This is consistent with the pronunciation of the "o" in won, done, none, son, honey, and ton.
So why in beyond is the sound now "aw"?
English is a crazy language. Are we sure we really want to make it the national language? Spanish pronunciation is much simpler.
2006-06-23 17:52:47 · answer #1 · answered by just♪wondering 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
monkey
1530, likely from an unrecorded M.L.G. *moneke or M.Du. *monnekijn, a colloquial word for "monkey," originally a dim. of some Romanic word, cf. Fr. monne (16c.), O.It. monna, Sp. mona. In a 1498 Low Ger. 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. The O.Fr. form of the name is Monequin (recorded as Monnekin in a 14c. version from Hainault), which could be a dim. of some personal name, or it could be from the general Romanic word, which may be ult. from Arabic maimun "monkey," lit. "auspicious," a euphemistic usage because the sight of apes was held by the Arabs to be unlucky. The word would have been influenced in It. by folk-etymology from monna "woman," a contraction of ma donna "my lady." Monkey has been used affectionately for "child" since 1605. As a type of modern popular dance, it is attested from 1964. Monkeyshines is first recorded 1832, Amer.Eng.; monkey business attested from 1883. Monkey suit "fancy uniform" is from 1886. Monkey wrench is attested from 1858; its fig. 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 one's 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 man's shoulders and won't 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 one's house." The three wise monkeys ("see no evil," etc.) are attested from 1926.
2006-06-24 00:46:18 · answer #2 · answered by pululu81 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You're too bored..lol so am I to be on here on a Friday night lol..honestly though the English language sux.. hardest language to learn another example is Monday--should be Munday..am I right or am I right?/
Remember people that give excessively long answers have no life..fling me the 10 points please lol
2006-06-24 00:47:05 · answer #3 · answered by hipergirl22 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
That's kind of asking why phone is spelled phone when it sounds like fone. n_n
2006-06-24 00:49:09 · answer #4 · answered by hobo_jeph 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
because the english laguage is meant to confuse us and makes no sense at all and was derived from latin and stuff like that.annoying, i know.
2006-06-24 00:47:53 · answer #5 · answered by Livia 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
English is full of weirdness like this.
2006-06-24 00:47:56 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
because english is complicated....its spelled that way for the same reason 'enough' isnt spelled 'enuf'.....to make our lives more difficult!
2006-06-24 00:47:24 · answer #7 · answered by laura 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
well i tink its because people wnat to confused the f*** out of us just so they can complain to their kids that they spell it rong!!!!!
2006-06-24 00:56:44 · answer #8 · answered by ĴỂņŇỴ 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Welcome to the English phonetic system. By the way, why isn't it spelled "fonetics"?
2006-06-24 00:48:38 · answer #9 · answered by n9wff 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i don't know but maybe you should just start pronouncing it "mon-key" =)
i know i will!
2006-06-24 00:49:10 · answer #10 · answered by M 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋