menagerie

• ménagerie

From French ménagerie, derived from ménager (“to keep house”), household. Housekeeping used to include taking care of domestic animals.

• IPA^(key): /məˈnæd͡ʒəɹɪ/, /mɪˈnæʒəɹɪ/
• (US) IPA^(key): /məˈnædʒəri/, /məˈnæʒəri/

  • Audio (US):

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• Audio (General Australian):

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• Hyphenation: me‧nag‧er‧ie

menagerie (plural menageries)

1. A collection of live wild animals as an exhibition historically associated with the aristocracy and considered a precursor of modern zoos.

   Synonym: zoo

2. The enclosure where they are kept.

   Synonyms: zoo, zoological garden

   • 1949, Bruce Kiskaddon, George R. Stewart, Earth Abides:

     In Sacramento a crazed woman opened the cages of a circus menagerie for fear the animals might starve to death, and had been mauled by a lioness.

3. A diverse or miscellaneous group.

   Synonyms: assortment, motley crew, hodgepodge, melange

   • 2025 December 28, Elizabeth Blair, “Brigitte Bardot, sex goddess of cinema, has died”, in NPR:

     [Brigitte] Bardot, the stunning, desirable beauty who once stood for sexual freedom for women, spent the latter part of her life at her home near Saint Tropez with her husband and a menagerie of pets.

4. (obsolete, slang) The orchestra of a theatre.

menagerie f (plural menageries)

1. menagerie (collection of live wild animals on exhibition)