A person who creates, promotes, or deals in fanciful or imaginative ideas, often used disparagingly to mean someone who deals in frivolous or impractical notions.
Compound of 'fancy' (imaginative notion) plus 'monger' (a dealer or promoter). The suffix '-monger' comes from Old English 'mangere,' and was used in compound words like 'fishmonger' and later in derogatory compounds like 'fearmonger.'
'-Monger' started as a neutral word for someone who sold things, but by the 1600s it became an insult—now we have 'fear-mongers,' 'war-mongers,' and 'rumor-mongers' where it means 'someone who spreads bad things!'
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