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mon
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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See also: Appendix:Variations of "mon"
Languages (24)
Translingual • English
Bavarian • Catalan • Chinese • Danish • Franco-Provençal • French • Guinea-Bissau Creole • Jamaican Creole • Japanese • Kabuverdianu • Kalasha • Middle English • Northern Sami • Occitan • Old English • Old French • Old Occitan • Scots • Skolt Sami • Swedish • Tok Pisin • Volapük
Page categories
Bavarian • Catalan • Chinese • Danish • Franco-Provençal • French • Guinea-Bissau Creole • Jamaican Creole • Japanese • Kabuverdianu • Kalasha • Middle English • Northern Sami • Occitan • Old English • Old French • Old Occitan • Scots • Skolt Sami • Swedish • Tok Pisin • Volapük
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Translingual
Symbol
mon
See also
English
Pronunciation
- (General American) IPA(key): /mɑn/
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /mɒn/
Audio (General Australian): (file) - Rhymes: -ɒn
Etymology 1
Noun
- (historical) The former currency of Japan until 1870, before the yen.
- 1902, Walter Del Mar, Around the World Through Japan, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., page 136:
- The shimonsen or shimon, originally worth four mon, but debased to two mon.
- The badge or emblem of a Japanese family, especially a family of the ancient feudal nobility; typically circular and consists of conventionalized forms from nature.
Etymology 2
From a dialectal variant of man; compare West Midland Middle English mon (alongside East Midland Middle English man).
Noun
mon
- (colloquial) Man; used in places such as Jamaica, and Lancashire, Shropshire and the Black Country in England.
See also
Etymology 3
Clipping of monster, via Japanese モン (mon) in Pokémon, Digimon, etc.
Alternative forms
Noun
mon (plural mons)
- (fandom slang) A creature in a video game, usually one which is captured, trained up and used in battles.
- 2000 November 25, Thomas Conner, “Digimon Top Ten Choice List”, in alt.fan.digimon (Usenet):
- Here they are, the fans voted for them, and here they are, the Mons that can...
- 2003 February 15, sirSTACK, “Digimon #429”, in alt.fan.digimon (Usenet):
- When a mon attacks him, he returns the same strike with the world "Reflection" after it, double the original strength.
- 2011 June 6, Clayton, “PW! - Training Interlude”, in alt.games.nintendo.pokemon (Usenet):
- And thus did it come to pass that the boy and the two mons, after a brief final discussion began the training.
- (fandom slang) A video game or anime in which catching and battling creatures is an important element.
- 2001 May 27, Travis Anton, “Cigarette Smoke”, in alt.home.repair (Usenet):
- Pokemon, digimon and all other merchandised mons, what good parent will disagree with me that those little invading, mind rotting things should be tolerated... those should be illegal, too...
- 2003 December 9, tito, “Main difference between anime and U.S. cartoons?”, in rec.arts.anime.misc (Usenet):
- At any rate Digimon was the best mon/collector series we've seen yet, to the point its popularity was prolly bigger here than its marketing.
Etymology 4
Alternative forms
Pronunciation
Interjection
mon (chiefly Scotland)
- come on; come along with me
- come on! Part of a chant for a team or band.
- 2011 September 1, Alan Bissett, Pack Men, Hachette UK, →ISBN:
- 'Sing up, runt,' he goes, slapping my back friendly/forceful. 'Mon the Rangers!'
- 2014 April 14, Martin Travers, Scarfed For Life: 2nd edition, A&C Black, →ISBN:
- Narrator: Jack's a Celtic fan.
Jack: Mon the hoops!
- 2022 April 19, Ian Winwood, Bodies: Life and Death in Music, Faber & Faber, →ISBN:
- I caught sight of a lake of faces chanting 'Mon the Biff! Mon the Biff!" – come on the Biffy Clyro – with a startling and percussive unity. 'Mon. The. Biff!' 'Mon. The. Biff!' 'Mon. The. Biff!'
- An expression of defiance or as a challenge; often as "mon then"
Etymology 5
Symbol
mon
Anagrams
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Bavarian
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Middle High German man, from Old High German man, from Proto-Germanic *mann-. Cognate with German Mann, Dutch man, English man, Icelandic maður, Swedish man, Gothic 𐌼𐌰𐌽𐌽𐌰 (manna).
Noun
mon
References
- Patuzzi, Umberto, ed., (2013) Luserna / Lusérn: Le nostre parole / Ünsarne börtar / Unsere Wörter [Our Words], Luserna, Italy: Comitato unitario delle isole linguistiche storiche germaniche in Italia / Einheitskomitee der historischen deutschen Sprachinseln in Italien
Catalan
Etymology
Inherited from Old Catalan mon, from Vulgar Latin *mum, reduced form of Latin meum, from Proto-Italic *meos. Compare Occitan and French mon.
In unstressed position in Vulgar Latin meum, meam etc. were monosyllabic and regularly became mon, ma etc. in Catalan. When stressed they were disyllabic and became meu, mia > meua etc.
Pronunciation
Determiner
mon m (feminine ma, masculine plural mos, feminine plural mes)
Usage notes
- The use of mon and the other possessive determiners is mostly archaic in the majority of dialects, with articulated possessive pronouns (e.g. el meu) mostly being used in their stead. However, mon, ton, and son are still widely used before certain nouns referring to family members and some affective nouns, such as amic, casa, and vida. Which nouns actually find use with the possessive determiners depends greatly on the locale.
The standard masculine plural form is mos, but mons can be found in some dialects.
Descendants
- Sicilian: mo (South Easy of Sicily, nearby Ragusa)
See also
References
- “món”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
- “mon”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025
- “mon” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
- “mon” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.
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Chinese
Alternative forms
- 芒 (mon1, mong1), ⿴囗芒
Etymology
Pronunciation
- Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong–Macau)+
- Jyutping: mon1
- Yale: mōn
- Cantonese Pinyin: mon1
- Guangdong Romanization: mon1
- Sinological IPA (key): /mɔːn⁵⁵/
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong–Macau)+
Noun
mon
Derived terms
Verb
mon
References
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Danish
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
From the (now obsolete) present of the modal verb monne (“may, might”), via a false interpretation of sentences like hvor mon han bo? (“where may he live?”) as hvor mon han bor? (“where, I wonder, does he live?”).
Adverb
mon
- I wonder
- Mon luftmodstanden kan være betydningsfuld?
- Might the air resistance be significant, I wonder?
- Nå, mon ikke de snart er færdige.
- Well, I wonder if they might be ready?
- Er det mon bare et spørgsmål om at opskrive alle tilfælde, og så udstrege alle de umulige?
- I wonder if it is just a matter of enumerating all cases, and then excluding the impossible ones?
Usage notes
The adverb is only used in direct or indirect questions. It is usually located in the second place in the sentence, i.e. where one would expect to find the finite verb (cf. the etymology). The finite, on the other hand, is placed in the second part of the sentence, where one would expect to find an infinitive.
Synonyms
Etymology 2
See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.
Verb
mon
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Franco-Provençal
Etymology
Inherited from Vulgar Latin *mum. Doublet of min (possessive pronoun).
Determiner
mon (feminine ma, masculine plural mos or mes, feminine plural mes) (ORB, broad)
- my (first-personal singular possessor)
See also
References
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French
Etymology
Inherited from Middle French mon, from Old French mun, mon, meon, from Vulgar Latin, Late Latin mum, a reduced variant of Latin meum, accusative masculine and neuter singular of meus. Probably influenced by Gaulish mon (“my”).
Pronunciation
Determiner
mon m (feminine ma, plural mes)
- (possessive) my (used to qualify masculine nouns and vowel-initial words regardless of gender)
- J'ai perdu mon chapeau.
- I lost my hat.
- La décision a été prise pendant mon absence.
- The decision was taken in my absence.
- Followed by rank, obligatory way of addressing a (male) superior officer within the military. (Folk etymology: military-specific short for "monsieur".)
Usage notes
Mon is used before all singular nouns beginning with a vowel or a mute H, even those that are feminine. However, ma is used with singular feminine nouns beginning with either a consonant or an aspirated H.
Derived terms
Related terms
Descendants
- Louisiana Creole: mô
Further reading
- “mon”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Anagrams
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Guinea-Bissau Creole
Etymology
From Portuguese mão. Cognate with Kabuverdianu mon.
Noun
mon
Jamaican Creole
Etymology
Pronunciation
Noun
mon
- alternative spelling of man
Interjection
mon
- Vocative used to place emphasis upon something or someone; sometimes, but not always, when actually addressing a man.
- Ya, mon!
- Yeah, man!
Further reading
- mon at majstro.com
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Japanese
Romanization
mon
Kabuverdianu
Etymology
From Portuguese mão.
Noun
mon
Kalasha
Noun
mon
- a language
Middle English
Etymology 1
Noun
mon
- (West Midlands) alternative form of man (“man, person”)
Etymology 2
Pronoun
mon
- alternative form of man (“one, you”)
Etymology 3
Noun
mon
- alternative form of mone (“moon”)
Etymology 4
Verb
mon
- alternative form of mone (“shall”)
Etymology 5
Verb
mon
- alternative form of monen (“to remember”)
Etymology 6
Verb
mon
- alternative form of monen (“to lament”)
Northern Sami
Pronunciation
Pronoun
mon
- nominative of mun
Occitan
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Old Occitan mon, from Vulgar Latin mum, a reduced variant of Latin meum.
Pronunciation
Audio: (file)
Determiner
mon m sg (feminine singular ma, masculine plural mos, feminine plural mas)
References
- Diccionari General de la Lenga Occitana, L’Academia occitana – Consistòri del Gai Saber, 2008-2024, page 389.
Old English
Noun
mon m
- alternative form of mann
Old French
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Vulgar Latin, Late Latin mum, a reduced variant of Latin meum, nominative neuter singular of meus.
Pronunciation
Determiner
mon m (feminine ma, plural mes)
- my (first-person singular possessive)
Descendants
- French: mon
Old Occitan
Etymology 1
From Vulgar Latin, Late Latin mum, a reduced variant of Latin meum, nominative neuter singular of meus.
Alternative forms
Adjective
mon m (feminine ma)
- my (belonging to me)
Descendants
- Occitan: mon
Etymology 2
Noun
mon m (oblique plural mons, nominative singular mons, nominative plural mon)
- world
- c. 1145, Bernard de Ventadour, Anc no gardei sazo ni mes:
- Tota gens ditz que Vianes
Es la melher terra del mon- Everyone says that Vianes
is the best land in the world
- Everyone says that Vianes
Descendants
Scots
Noun
mon
Skolt Sami
Etymology
From Proto-Samic *monë.
Pronoun
mon
Inflection
Further reading
- Koponen, Eino, Ruppel, Klaas, Aapala, Kirsti, editors (2002–2008), Álgu database: Etymological database of the Saami languages, Helsinki: Research Institute for the Languages of Finland
- Giellatekno institute collection of web dictionaries https://giellatekno.uit.no/cgi/index.sms.nob.html%20
- Moshnikoff, Satu; Moshnikoff, Jouni, authors and Lehtinen, Miika; Koponen, Eino; Fofonoff, Merja; Lehtola, Raija, editors (2020) Lääʹdd-sääʹm sääʹnnǩeʹrjj https://saan.oahpa.no/
Swedish
Noun
mon
Tok Pisin
Noun
mon
Volapük
Noun
mon (uncountable mons)
- money
- 1932, Arie de Jong, Leerboek der Wereldtaal, page 19:
- If laboböv moni, remoböv ole buki at.
- If I had money, I would buy this book for you.
Declension
1 status as a case is disputed
2 in later, non-classical Volapük only
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