{{Short description|Structure to hold food for animals}} {{Other uses}} [[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 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 stables and farmhouses. They are also used to feed wild animals, e.g., in nature reserves.
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 scenes where Mary and 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 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''; 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'' 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