Mangey

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Describes an animal or person showing signs of mange, such as hair loss, itching, and patchy skin
2. Characterizes something or someone as scruffy or unkempt due to a skin condition like mange
3. Refers to the rough, unhealthy appearance typical of mange infestation causing hair or fur to fall out

Etymology: "Mangey" is an alternative spelling of "mangy", and the story runs through the noun "mange", the skin disease that gives the adjective its sense. The disease name came into English from Old French "mangue", itself from the Latin "mandúcus"-linked "mangier" group of words meaning to eat, a nod to how the mites burrow into and eat away at the skin. Once "mange" existed as a noun, English simply added the suffix "-y" to make an adjective meaning affected by it. The suffix is the old Germanic "-ig" ending, which in Old English took the form "-iġ" and became Middle English "-y," so the word is a straightforward combination of a noun and an ending rather than a coinage. Over time the sense widened from a literal skin disease in animals to any scruffy, shabby or neglected thing, so a mangy coat or a mangy hotel now needs no mention of disease at all.

Synonyms: mangy, scabby