noun
menagerie
muh-NAJ-uh-ree/məˈnædʒəri/
A collection of captive wild animals.
The menagerie includes a zebra, a lemur, and a macaw.
Etymology
Ménagerie meant housing for domestic animals or an enclosure for wild ones. The meaning shifted from the place where animals were kept to the collection of animals itself.
In context
Chandler studied the creatures either in his private Menagerie or at one of the newly founded modern zoos in New York or Paris
More examples
- Keepers feed the animals in the menagerie twice a day.
- The king kept a private menagerie on the palace grounds.
- Traveling menageries once brought exotic animals to small towns.
Forms
menagerie · menageries
Similar words
- zoo
- Names the facility where animals live, rather than the collection.
- collection
- Can include any gathered items, not just captive wild animals.