manducus
The Latin word for boogeyman is manducus.
manducus refers to an imaginary monster used by adults to frighten children into behaving.
Did you know?
- The word manducus is built from the verb 'mandō', which means 'to chew'.
- While manducus sounds like a scary monster, its root 'mandō' is most commonly used in modern Romance languages like Spanish or French to mean 'to order' or 'to command'.
- A Roman parent using manducus was not just threatening a child with a ghost, but was using a word that literally implies the child is destined to be 'chewed' or 'devoured'.
Example conversation
A parent puts a child to bed.
- GaiusDormi iam, Lucia, aut manducus veniet.Sleep now, Lucia, or the boogeyman will come.
- LuciaUbi est manducus?Where is the boogeyman?
- GaiusSub lecto habitat.He lives under the bed.
- LuciaEgo non timeo!I am not afraid!
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries manducus, CC BY-SA 4.0.
