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").[1]
Mangers are mostly used in livestock raising[2] 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 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.[3] (Greek, Modern (1453-);: φάτνη phatnē; Luke 2:7).[4]