The word “monger” traces its roots to the Old English term “mangere,” meaning a dealer. Originally, it was used to describe someone who traded or sold goods, but over time, it took on a more targeted meaning. This is a process of semantic change called either specialization or narrowing, which many words have undergone across all languages. The word “corn”, for example, was used to refer to any kind of grain in the Old and early Middle English periods, while now it describes just one. Although “corn” has narrowed almost entirely, for many words the process is often incomplete. Words such as “monger” and “hound” maintain their original sense along with an air of old-fashionedness. “Hound” used to mean any kind of dog but now it is a specific type of dog, and if someone used it generically it would likely seem a bit old-timey.
The particle “-monger” exists in a handful of specialized words, across a broad duality of meaning. The first is persons associated with certain traditional trades, such as “costermonger” and “cheesemonger”. The second is for activities often given negative connotation. suggesting a person who promotes or deals in something undesirable, such as qa “warmonger”. Thus, “fishmonger” and “ironmonger” refer to legitimate trades, while “scaremonger” and “fearmonger” evoke a sense of manipulation or exploitation. It would be possible for speakers to use the particle “monger” productively, and make new phrases such as “phonemonger” or “candymonger” but these would likely carry airs of old-fashionedness.
This double meaning of tradecraft and undesirable dealings is a product of the semantic narrowing, but it is by no means absolute. The word “whoremonger” was a popular word for a person who frequents prostitutes, maintaining the negative sense of undesirable dealings but with the trade going in the opposite direction. A number of other compound words have cropped up over the centuries with solely negative connotations, such as “phrasemonger” to mean an overly verbose person, or “money-monger” to mean a capitalist or a penny pinching employee.
In Indian courts, a person who is overly litigious and abuses legislation with vexatious suits is sometimes called a “petition monger”.
The word “monger” has several different meanings and is in different use across the Anglosphere, and has been for centuries. It is also important to note that creativity is also a huge part of language use, and speakers will often use words for humor or to sound fancy. In a video from the Dogist, with street photographer Elias Weiss Friedman, a dog is referred to as a “cheesemonger” because she goes crazy for cheese. So what is a monger? well it is someone who does deals, and it can be neutral or negative. Though Sharon the treatmonger in my local dog park is definitely a positive and beloved dealer.