manacle
UK /ˈmænək(ə)l/ · US /ˈmænəkəl/ noun, verb
Forms manacles manacling manacled
- noun A shackle for the wrist, usually consisting of a pair of joined rings; a handcuff; (by extension) a similar device put around an ankle to restrict free movement.
- noun (figuratively) A fetter, a restriction.
- verb (ambitransitive) To confine with manacles.
Synonyms
Etymology
The noun is derived from Middle English manacle, manakelle, manakil, manakyll, manicle, manikil, manycle, manykil, manykle, from Anglo-Norman manicle, manichle (“gauntlet; handle of a plough; (in plural) manacles”), and Middle French manicle, Old French manicle (“armlet; gauntlet; (in plural) manacles”) (modern French manicle, manique (“gauntlet”)), from Latin manicula (“handle of a plough; manacle”), from manus (“hand”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)meh₂- (“to beckon, signal”)) + -cula (from -culus, variant of -ulus (suffix forming diminutive nouns)). Doublet of manicle and manicule.
The verb is probably derived from the noun, although according to the Oxford English Dictionary it is attested slightly earlier.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A handcuff; a shackle for the hand or wrist; --usually in the plural.
- verb To put handcuffs or other fastening upon, for confining the hands; to shackle; to confine; to restrain from the use of the limbs or natural powers.
Etymology [OE. manicle, OF. manicle, F. manicle sort glove, manacle, L. manicula a little hand, dim. of manus hand; cf. L. manica sleeve, manacle, fr.manus. See Manual.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “manacle”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details