# Origin of "Flea Market" **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 11, 2002, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-flea-market/127951 "2002-09-11T11:37:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![spinnetti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@spinnetti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spinnetti)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2002, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-flea-market/127951/1 "2002-09-11T11:37:46Z")
What is the origin of the term “Flea Market”? I was chatting with a co-worker from Japan, and he said there, the Japanese phrase means exactly the same thing. Where did this come from? As a kid, I thought there were real fleas there, but maybe that was just on the vendors? Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2002, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-flea-market/127951/2 "2002-09-11T14:13:11Z")
A simple [Google search](http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=%22origin+of+flea+market%22) reveals several pages. Among them: > [@](#): > > [http://www.word-detective.com/121597.html](http://www.word-detective.com/121597.html) > . . . the actual origin of the term most probably lies in Paris, where Le Marche aux Puces (literally, “market of the fleas”) was a popular shopping venue. Le Marche aux Puces took its name, as you might have guessed by now, from the semi-humorous (and probably at least partly accurate) popular perception that the market’s ragtag goods were more than likely to be infested with fleas. ---
**Author:** ![spinnetti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@spinnetti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spinnetti)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2002, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-flea-market/127951/3 "2002-09-11T14:35:43Z")
(Silly me. I shouldda searched Google)