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manumission (man" yuh MISH uhn) (s) (noun), manumissions (pl)
1. The act of liberating a slave from bondage: Manumission was the process of freeing slaves from bondage and it was done at the will of the owners of the slaves.
2. Etymology: from Middle English and is derived from the Latin manumittere, "to set free"; from manu, literally, "hand" + mittere, "to release, to let go".

The freeing of slaves by an act of government; for example, at the end of the American Civil War.

Manumission dates back to ancient Rome. Popes, emperors, and minor landholders; all were counted among those who practiced it.

During the Middle Ages serfs were freed through a form of manumission which was a process that differed from time-to-time and from lord-to-lord.

High productivity, loyal service, or even buying their way out of service were all reasons for which slaves or serfs received their freedom under manumission.

In ancient Rome, freed slaves were not "freeborn" and were still required to grovel in the presence of their former masters.

During the Middle Ages serfs, who had obtained their freedom and farmland, would often give up their land in troubled times in exchange for the protection of their former feudal masters.

In times of bad harvests, serfs could find themselves, once again, attached to the land of a noble because of the lack of any other means of survival.

For these reasons, manumission is not any where near the same as "emancipation".

—Based on information from various sources, including:
"Slavery" in the Encyclopedia Britannica; Encyclopedia, Inc.;
William Benton, Publisher; Chicago; Volume 20; 1968; pages 628-634.
This entry is located in the following unit: -sion, -sions (page 7)