manacle

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun shackle that consists of a metal loop that can be locked around the wrist; usually used in pairs
  2. verb confine or restrain with or as if with manacles or handcuffs

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)). The verb is probably derived from the noun, although according to the Oxford English Dictionary it is attested slightly earlier.

In classic literature

Synonyms

handcuff, cuff, handlock

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