What does fellmonger mean?
A fellmonger is a merchant who dealt in animal hides, with sheepskins the best-known focus of the role. The word is chiefly British and is now encountered mostly in historical records, old occupational names, or discussions of the leather trade rather than in everyday conversation. It comes from two transparent elements: fell, an old word for a hide or pelt, and monger, a merchant or dealer. In that sense it identifies a person who traded or handled skins at the stage when raw hides were prepared for further processing. This distinguishes the term from a general leather seller, who may deal in finished goods, and from a furrier, whose speciality is fur. The word is useful to readers of period documents because it preserves a specific occupation within the chain of raw-skin trading, tanning, and leather-making. Its survival in business names and local histories also gives it a vivid connection to the rural trades that once supplied and processed sheep hides.
nounA dealer in animal hides or skins, especially sheepskins.
- A person who bought, sold, or handled hides or skins, especially sheepskins.
"The old ledger records sheepskins purchased from the local fellmonger."
"Guild records list the fellmonger among the town's leather trades."
"The fellmonger sold sheepskins to a manufacturer after the village fair."
The regular plural is fellmongers.
"The old trade directory lists three fellmongers in the borough."
The word packages an entire old trade in two pieces: a fell was a hide, and a monger was a dealer.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does fellmonger come from?
Fellmonger is a Middle English compound of fell, meaning a hide or skin, and monger, meaning a dealer or merchant. The older spelling felmonger is also recorded. The compound denotes a person who traded in hides, particularly the skins of sheep.
Related word forms
How fellmonger is actually used
This is now an uncommon trade term, encountered chiefly in British historical records, occupational names, and accounts of the leather industry.
Easily confused with fellmonger
Felmonger is an older variant spelling of fellmonger and does not denote a different occupation.