"M" Word Origins

manicurist

Origin

Formed from manicure plus the -ist suffix used for people who practice a trade.

manifest

Latin

From Latin manifestus, "obvious, palpable," built from manus ("hand") plus an uncertain second element. A doublet of manifesto.

manifestation

Late Latin

From Late Latin manifestatio, built from manifest- plus -ation.

manifesto

Latin

From Italian manifesto, from manifestare, "to make public," ultimately from the same Latin root as manifest.

manifold

Old English

From Old English manigfeald, a compound of many and -fold, meaning "many times over."

manikin

Origin

From Dutch manneken, Middle Dutch mannekijn. Doublet of manakin and mannequin.

Manila

Tagalog

Named after Manila, the Philippine city, whose own name comes from Tagalog words roughly meaning "where indigo grows."

maniple

Origin

From Late Middle English maniple, manyple (“scarf worn as vestment, maniple”), borrowed from Middle French, Old French maniple, manipule (“handful; troop of soldiers; scarf worn as vestment”) (modern French manipule), from Latin manipulus (“bundle, handful; troop of soldiers”), from manus (“hand”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)meh₂- (“to beckon, signal”)) + the weakened root of pleō (“to fill; to fulfil”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pleh₁- (“to fill”)). The English word is cognate with Italian manipulo (“scarf worn as vestment”) (obsolete), manipolo (“handful; troop of soldiers; scarf worn as vestment”). Sense 2 (“part of a priest’s vestments”) is probably from the fact that the item was originally carried in the hand. It may originate from a handkerchief or napkin worn by Roman consuls as an indication of rank.

manipulate

Latin

A back-formation from manipulation, ultimately from Latin manus, "hand."

manipulation

Latin

From French manipulation, ultimately from Latin manipulus, "handful," tracing back to manus, "hand."

manipulative

Origin

From manipulate plus the adjective-forming suffix -ive.

manipulator

Origin

From manipulate + -or.

Manitoba

Origin

From an Ojibwe or Cree phrase referring to the Narrows of Lake Manitoba, roughly meaning "spirit strait."

manitou

Origin

From Pidgin Delaware Manétto, from Unami manëtu and Munsee manútoow, later influenced by French manitou, from Cree/Montagnais manito꞉w; from Proto-Algonquian *maneto·wa (“supernatural being”).

manji

Origin

Variant of Latin Mangi, q.v.

manju

Chinese

From Japanese manju, itself from a Chinese word for a filled steamed bun.

manjuristics

Origin

From Manchu + -istics, influenced by Manchu ᠮᠠᠨᠵᡠ (manju).

mankind

Old English

From Old English mancynn, a compound of man and cynn ("kin"), reshaped in Middle English under the influence of the word "kind."

manky

Origin

From mank + -y.

Manley

Old English

* As an English surname, from Old English mæne (“common, shared”) + lēah (“woodland”). Equivalent to mean + -ley (“lea”). * Also as an English surname, from the adjective manly (“brave, manly”). * As an Irish surname, anglicized from Ó Máinle (“descendant of Máinle”); see Malley. * Also as an Irish surname, from Ó Maonghaile (“descendant of Maonghal”), from maoin (“wealth”) + gal (“valor, fury”).

manliness

Middle English

From Middle English manlynes, built from manly plus -ness.

manling

Origin

From man + -ling.

manly

Old English

From Old English, built from man plus the adjective suffix -ly.

mann

German

Borrowed from German Mann, meaning "man."

manna

Latin

Traced back through Latin and Greek to Hebrew man, the name of the biblical food.

manned

Old English

The past-participle form of the verb man, "to staff or crew," from Old English mannian.

mannequin

French

From French mannequin, going back through Middle Dutch to "little man" — the same root gives us manikin.

manner

Latin

From Old French maniere, ultimately from Latin manus ("hand") — the original sense was close to "handling" or "way of handling something."

mannered

Middle English

From Middle English manered; equivalent to manner + -ed.

mannerly

Origin

From Middle English manerely, equivalent to manner + -ly.

mannikin

Origin

From Dutch manneken, Middle Dutch mannekijn.

mannish

Origin

From Middle English mannish, mannisshe, mannysh, from earlier mennish (“human”), from Old English mennisċ (“human, natural, humane”), from Proto-West Germanic *mannisk, from Proto-Germanic *manniskaz (“human”). By surface analysis, man + -ish. Doublet of mennish, mense, and mensch.

manny

Origin

A blend of "man" and "nanny," coined to describe male childcare workers.

mano

Spanish

From Spanish mano, "hand" — the tool is worked by hand back and forth across the grinding surface.

manoeuvre

Latin

From French manœuvre, ultimately from Latin manu operari, "to work by hand" — the same root gives us "manual" and "operate."

Manohar

Sanskrit

From Sanskrit "manohara," meaning "captivating" or "heart-stealing."

manor

Latin

From Old French manoir ("to dwell"), from Latin manēre ("to stay, remain") — the same root as "remain" and "mansion."

manpower

Origin

From man + power.

manpowered

Origin

From man + powered.

manqueller

Origin

From Middle English manquellere, equivalent to man + queller.

mans

Old English

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *mon- Proto-Germanic *mann- Proto-West Germanic *mann Old English mann Middle English man English man English -s English mans From man + -s (hypocoristic suffix).

manse

Origin

From Medieval Latin mānsus (“dwelling”), from Latin manēre (“to remain”), whence also manor, mansion. Doublet of mas.

manservant

Middle English

From Middle English man servant, man servaunt; equivalent to man + servant.

manship

Origin

From Middle English manship (“position of honor; respect; courtesy; manly spirit or conduct; humanity; human condition”), from Old English mansċipe (“humanity, courtesy”), equivalent to man + -ship. Cognate with Dutch manschap (“homage, manred, crew”), German Mannschaft (“team, crew, squad, force”), Swedish manskap (“rank, crew”).

mansion

Latin

From Latin mānsiō ("a dwelling, a stopping place"), from manēre ("to stay") — the same root as "manor" and "remain."

manslaughter

Old English

From Middle English man + slaughter, echoing the older Old English mansliht ("killing of a person").

Manson

Origin

An Anglicised version of the North Germanic (Scandinavian) name Magnuson "son of Magnus" (Swedish Magnusson, Danish Magnussen, Norwegian Magnusen, Icelandic Magnússon), using + -son.

Mansour

Arabic

From Arabic "mansur," meaning "victorious."