View source for Manger

{{Short description|Structure to hold food for animals}}
{{Other uses}}
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[[File:Livestock_trough_near_Empire_Ranch_Arizona_2007.jpg|thumb|Modern livestock trough near [[Empire Ranch]], [[Arizona]].]]
A '''manger''' or '''trough''' is a rack for fodder, or a structure or [[Feeder (livestock equipment)|feeder]] used to hold food for animals. The word comes from the Old French ''mangier'' (meaning "to eat"), from Latin ''mandere'' (meaning "to chew").<ref>{{cite web |last1=Harper |first1=Douglas |title=manger |url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/manger |website=Online Etymology Dictionary |access-date=9 June 2020}}</ref>

Mangers are mostly used in [[livestock]] raising<ref>Mahoney, Leonardo (1996). [https://www.amazon.com/years-architecture-Malta-Leonard-Mahoney/dp/9990958157 ''5,000 years of Architecture in Malta'']. [[Malta]]: [[Valletta]] Publishing. Format. p. 123-124. {{ISBN|9990958157}}. {{ISBN|9789990958157}}</ref> and generally found at [[stable]]s and [[farmhouse]]s. They are also used to feed [[wildlife|wild animals]], e.g., in [[nature reserve]]s. 

A similar trough providing drinking water for domestic or non-domestic animals is a [[watering trough]] and may be part of a larger watering structure called [[abreuvoir]].

== The manger in Christianity ==
The manger is associated with [[nativity scene]]s where [[Mary, mother of Jesus|Mary]] and [[Saint Joseph|Joseph]], forced by necessity to stay in a room for animals instead of a guest room, used a manger as a makeshift crib for the [[Christ Child|Baby Jesus]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=William |first1=Francis Dawson |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qKRBAAAAIAAJ |title=Christmas: Its Origin and Associations |publisher=E. Stock |year=1902 |access-date=2014-12-25 }}</ref> ({{langx|el|φάτνη}} ''phatnē''; [[Gospel of Luke|Luke]] 2:7).<ref>{{cite web | title=I know Jesus was born in a manger, but why is that important and what does it mean? | website=Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis | date=2021-11-06 | url=https://www.archspm.org/faith-and-discipleship/catholic-faith/i-know-jesus-was-born-in-a-manger-but-why-is-that-important-and-what-does-it-mean/ | access-date=2022-11-02}}</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery class=center>
File:Devil's_Farmhouse,_Mellieha.jpeg|18th century [[limestone]] mangers at [[The Devil's Farmhouse]] in [[Mellieha]], [[Malta]].
File:Donkey eating.jpg|Donkey eating [[apples]] from a steel trough
File:Geertgen tot Sint Jans, The Nativity at Night, c 1490.jpg|''[[Nativity at Night (Geertgen tot Sint Jans)|Nativity at Night]]'' by [[Geertgen tot Sint Jans]], c. 1490.
</gallery>

==See also==
*"[[Away in a Manger]]", a [[Christmas carol]]
* [[Bird feeder]]
*[[The Dog in the Manger]], a metaphor

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{commonscat-inline|Feeding troughs}}
*{{wiktionary-inline}}

{{Nativity of Jesus}}

[[Category:Livestock]]
[[Category:Christian symbols]]
[[Category:Agricultural buildings]]