"M" Word Origins

mansplaining

English

A blend of man and explaining, formed in the early 21st century.

mansur

Origin

Transliteration of Arabic مَنْصُور (manṣūr). Doublet of Mansour.

manswear

Origin

From Middle English mansweren, from Old English mānswerian (“to forswear, perjure oneself”), from mān (“bad, criminal, false”) + swerian (“to swear”).

Manta

Spanish

Borrowed from Spanish manta (“blanket”).

Mantel

Origin

A spelling variant of "mantle," now used specifically for the fireplace shelf.

mantelpiece

Origin

From mantel + piece.

manticora

Origin

Borrowed from translingual Manticora, from the same source as Etymology 1.

manticore

Persian

From Greek martikhóras, itself borrowed from an Old Persian word meaning "man-eater."

mantid

Origin

From New Latin Mantidae.

mantis

Greek

From Greek mántis, meaning "prophet" or "soothsayer," from the insect's prayer-like stance.

mantle

Latin

From Old English mæntel ("sleeveless cloak"), from Latin mantellum ("covering, cloak").

mantra

Sanskrit

From Sanskrit mantra, related to a root meaning "to think" — the same root that gives English "mind."

mantrap

Origin

From man + trap.

Mantua

Italian

Named after Mantua, the Italian city once famous for producing this type of silk; the dress style later took the same name.

manu

Origin

In the sense of a manufacturer; clipping of 'manufacturer'

manual

Latin

From Latin manuālis, from manus ("hand") — anything "manual" is literally hand-related.

manubial

Origin

From Latin manubialis from manubiae (“money obtained from the sale of booty, plunder”).

Manuel

Spanish

Borrowed from Spanish and Portuguese Manuel, short for Emanuel.

manufactory

Origin

From Latin manūfactus + English -ory.

manufacture

Latin

From Latin manū factus, literally "made by hand" — ironic, since the word now usually means made by machine.

manumission

Origin

From Late Middle English manumissioun (“(uncountable) release by a feudal superior or slaveowner from servitude, freedom from servitude; (countable) an instance of this; document granting such freedom; (figurative) Jesus’s redemption of humankind”), from Anglo-Norman manumission and Middle French manumission, and from their etymon Latin manūmissiō (“emancipation of a slave, manumission”), from manūmiss- (the perfect passive participle stem of manūmittō (“to emancipate, free, release”)) + -iō (suffix forming abstract nouns from verbs). Manūmittō is derived from manū (the ablative singular of manus (“hand”); further etymology uncertain, possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)meh₂- (“to beckon, signal”)) + mittō (“to discharge, release; to send”) (probably ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *meyth₂- (“to release; to send; etc.”)).

manumit

Origin

From Middle English manumitten, from Latin manūmittere, from pre-Classical Latin manū ēmittere (literally “send out from one’s hand”).

manure

Latin

From Anglo-Norman manourer, ultimately from Latin manū operārī ("to work by hand") — originally meant "to cultivate," and only later narrowed to mean fertilizer.

manus

Origin

Borrowed from Latin manus (“hand”). Doublet of mano.

manuscript

Latin

From Latin manū scrīptus, literally "written by hand."

many

Old English

From Old English maniġ, ultimately from a Proto-Germanic root meaning "many" or "much" — related to similar words across most Germanic languages.

manyness

Origin

From many + -ness.

manysome

Origin

From many + -some.

mao

Origin

Borrowed from Samoan ma'o, from ma'oma'o.

Maori

Origin

From the Maori word māori itself, meaning "normal" or "native" — used to distinguish the indigenous people from later European settlers.

map

Latin

Shortened from Middle English mappemounde, "map of the world," ultimately from Latin mappa mundi — mappa meaning "cloth" (a map was once drawn on cloth) and mundi meaning "of the world."

maple

Old English

From Old English mapul-, the same root seen in words like "mapulder" — a very old Germanic name for the tree, related to words in Old Norse and Old High German for the same tree.

mapler

Origin

From maple + -er.

maquis

French

From French maquis, originally the name for Mediterranean scrubland — resistance fighters were said to "take to the maquis," hiding out in this rugged terrain, and the name stuck to the movement itself.

maquisard

Origin

Borrowed from French maquisard.

mar

Old English

From Old English mierran, "to hinder, disturb, or spoil," from an ancient Germanic root meaning "to disturb or annoy."

mara

Old Norse

From Old Norse mara — the same root that gives English "nightmare," since a "night-mare" was originally this very demon, not a horse.

Maradona

Spanish

Borrowed from Spanish Maradona.

marais

French

From French marais, "marsh" — also the name of a historic district in Paris built on reclaimed marshland.

marathon

Greek

Named after the Battle of Marathon in ancient Greece; legend holds that a messenger ran from Marathon to Athens to announce the Greek victory, and the modern race commemorates that run.

maraud

Origin

From French marauder, derivative of maraud (“rogue, vagabond”), from Middle French maraud (“rascal”), from Old French *marault (“beggar, vagabond”), from marir, marrir (“to trouble, stray, lose ones way, be lost”), from Frankish *marʀijan (“to neglect, hinder”), from Proto-Germanic *marzijaną (“to neglect, hinder, spoil”), from Proto-Indo-European *mers- (“to trouble, confuse, ignore, forget”), + Old French suffix -ault, -aud. Cognate with Old High German marrjan, marren (“to obstruct, hinder”), Old Saxon merrian (“to hinder, waste”), Gothic 𐌼𐌰𐍂𐌶𐌾𐌰𐌽 (marzjan, “to offend”). Related to mar.

marauder

French

From "maraud" plus the agent suffix "-er"; maraud itself traces back through French to a word for roaming in search of plunder.

marble

Latin

From Old French marbre, from Latin marmor, from Greek mármaros — possibly related to a Greek word meaning "gleaming."

Marburg

German

Borrowed from German Marburg, from an unknown term + German Burg.

marc

Old French

From Old French marc, related to marcher meaning "to trample" — a nod to how grapes were once crushed underfoot.

Marceau

French

Borrowed from French Marceau.

marcel

French

Named after the technique's association with the French name Marcel, though accounts differ on exactly who invented it.

marceline

Latin

From French marceline, from Latin marcidus (“withered”), from marcere (“to wither, shrivel”).