mon

See also: Appendix:Variations of "mon"

Translingual

Symbol

mon

1. (international standards) ISO 639-2 & ISO 639-3 language code for Mongolian.

English

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /mɑn/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /mɒn/

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɒn

Etymology 1

From Japanese 文ぶん (mon). Cognate to wen, mun and van.

Noun

mon (plural mons or mon)

1. (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.

2. 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 Western Middle English mon (alongside Eastern man).

Noun

mon

1. (slang) A colloquial means of address of man in places such as Jamaica, and Lancashire, Shropshire and the Black Country in England.
   • 1974, “A Mon Like Thee”, in Best o't' Bunch‎^[1], performed by The Oldham Tinkers:

     Ee I'm allus glad to see a mon like thee. That's as welcome lad, as welcome as can be. Fotch thi cheer up t'table. Stop as long as th'art able. Fer I'm allus glad to see a mon like thee.

   • 2020, “Black Country Mon”‎^[2]performed by Johnny Cole:

     I am a Black Country mon. Yow dow know and the Brummies woh understond.

See also

• (term of address for a man) mate (British, Australia), dude

Etymology 3

Clipping of monster, via Japanese モン (mon) in Pokémon, Digimon, etc.

Alternative forms

• 'mon

Noun

mon (plural mons)

1. (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^[3] (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^[4] (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^[5] (Usenet):

     And thus did it come to pass that the boy and the two mons, after a brief final discussion began the training.

2. (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^[6] (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...

   • 2001 May 24, Horace Wachope, “Kids Toys”, in alt.ozdebate‎^[7] (Usenet):

     And dont buy Pokemon or Digimon or any other bloody Mons or you will never hear the ned^[sic] of it :-)

   • 2003 December 9, tito, “Main difference between anime and U.S. cartoons?”, in rec.arts.anime.misc‎^[8] (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.

Anagrams

• -nom, MNO, NMO, NOM, ONM, no'm, nom, nom-, nom.

Bavarian

Alternative forms

• mònn, moon

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

1. (Sauris) man
2. (Sauris) husband

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

• (Balearic, Central) IPA^(key): /mun/ (always unstressed)
• (Valencia) IPA^(key): /mon/ (always unstressed)

Determiner

mon m (feminine ma, masculine plural mos, feminine plural mes)

1. my

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

• meu

References

• “món” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “mon”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2024
• “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.

Chinese

Alternative forms

• 芒すすき (mon¹, mong¹), ⿴囗芒

Etymology

From clipping of English monitor.

Pronunciation

• Cantonese (Jyutping): mon¹

---

• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: mon¹
    • Yale: mōn
    • Cantonese Pinyin: mon¹
    • Guangdong Romanization: mon¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /mɔːn⁵⁵/

Noun

mon

1. (Cantonese, hardware) monitor; screen (Classifier: 隻せき／只ただ c; 個こ／个 c; 塊かたまり／块 c)

   4吋いんち細ほそmon／4吋いんち细mon [Cantonese]  ―  sei³ cyun³ sai³ mon¹ [Jyutping]  ―  4-inch small screen

Derived terms

• mon貼は／mon贴

 

Verb

mon

1. (Hong Kong Cantonese) to monitor (watch)

   唔想そう下下しもじも俾人ひとmon住じゅう [Cantonese, trad. and simp.]

   m⁴ soeng² haa⁵ haa⁵ bei² jan⁴ mon¹ zyu⁶ [Jyutping]

   don't want to be monitored every moment

References

• English Loanwords in Hong Kong Cantonese

Danish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mon/, [ˈmɔn]

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

1. 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

• monstro

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

mon

1. (obsolete) present tense singular of monne

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)

1. my (first-personal singular possessor)

See also

Franco-Provençal possessive determiners

			Possessee
			singular		plural
			m	f	m	f
Possessor	singular	1st	mon	ma	mos	mes
		2nd	ton	ta	tos	tes
		3rd	son	sa	sos	ses
	plural	1st	noutron	noutra	noutros	noutres
		2nd	voutron	voutra	voutros	voutres
		3rd	lor		lors

References

• mon in DicoFranPro: Dictionnaire Français/Francoprovençal – on dicofranpro.llm.umontreal.ca
• mon in Lo trèsor Arpitan – on arpitan.eu

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.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mɔ̃/, (before a vowel) /mɔ̃.n‿/, /mɔ.n‿/

• Audio:

  (file)

• (Quebec) IPA^(key): [mɒ̃ʊ̯̃]

Determiner

mon m (feminine ma, plural mes)

1. (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.

2. 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

• mondit

Related terms

French possessive determiners

			Possessee
			singular		plural
			m	f
Possessor	singular	1st	mon1	ma	mes
		2nd	ton1	ta	tes
		3rd	son1	sa	ses
	plural	1st	notre		nos
		2nd	votre2		vos2
		3rd	leur		leurs

¹ Also used before feminine adjectives and nouns beginning with a vowel or mute h.

² Also used as the polite singular form.

For the singular persons there are gender-neutral neologisms man, tan, san. These are extremely rare.

Descendants

• Louisiana Creole: mô

Further reading

• “mon”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Anagrams

• nom

Guinea-Bissau Creole

Etymology

From Portuguese mão. Cognate with Kabuverdianu mon.

Noun

mon

1. hand

Japanese

Romanization

mon

1. Rōmaji transcription of もん

Kabuverdianu

Etymology

From Portuguese mão.

Noun

mon

1. hand

Kalasha

Noun

mon

1. a language

Middle English

Etymology 1

Noun

mon (plural men)

1. Alternative form of man (“man, person”)

Etymology 2

Pronoun

mon

1. Alternative form of man (“one, you”)

Etymology 3

Noun

mon

1. Alternative form of mone (“moon”)

Etymology 4

Verb

mon

1. Alternative form of mone (“shall”)

Etymology 5

Verb

mon

1. Alternative form of monen (“to remember”)

Etymology 6

Verb

mon

1. Alternative form of monen (“to lament”)

Northern Sami

Pronunciation

• (Kautokeino) IPA^(key): /ˈmon/

Pronoun

mon

1. nominative of mun

Occitan

Alternative forms

• moun (Mistralian)

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)

1. my

   Synonyms: meu, mieu

References

• Diccionari General de la Lenga Occitana, L’Academia occitana – Consistòri del Gai Saber, 2008-2024, page 389.

Old English

Noun

mon m

1. Alternative form of mann

Old French

Alternative forms

• moun (Anglo-Norman)
• mun (Anglo-Norman)
• meon (very early Old French; Oaths of Strasbourg)

Etymology

From Vulgar Latin, Late Latin mum, a reduced variant of Latin meum, nominative neuter singular of meus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mun/
• Rhymes: -on

Determiner

mon m (feminine ma, plural mes)

1. 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

• mo

Adjective

mon m (feminine ma)

1. my (belonging to me)

Descendants

• Occitan: mon

Etymology 2

From Latin mundus.

Noun

mon m (oblique plural mons, nominative singular mons, nominative plural mon)

1. 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

Descendants

• Catalan: món
• Occitan: mond

Scots

Noun

mon

1. man

Skolt Sami

Etymology

From Proto-Samic *monë.

Pronoun

mon

1. I

Inflection

Declension of mon

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	mon	muäna	mij
genitive	muu	muännai	mij
accusative	muu	muännaid	miʹjjid
illative	muʹnne	muännaid	miʹjjid
locative	muʹst	muännast	miiʹst
comitative	muin	muännain	miʹjjivuiʹm
abessive	muutää	muännaitää	miʹjjitää
essive	muuʹnen	muännan	—
partitive	muuʹđed	—	—

Further reading

• Koponen, Eino, Ruppel, Klaas, Aapala, Kirsti, editors (2002–2008), Álgu database: Etymological database of the Saami languages‎^[9], 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

1. definite singular of mo

Tok Pisin

Noun

mon

1. tree that bears fruit or nuts

Volapük

Noun

mon (uncountable mons)

1. 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

declension of mon

	singular
nominative	mon
genitive	mona
dative	mone
accusative	moni
vocative 1	o mon!
predicative 2	monu

• ¹ status as a case is disputed
• ² in later, non-classical Volapük only