manu-, man-, mani-, mandat-, manda-

(Latin: hand or hands)

manifesto (verb), manifestoes, manifestoed; manifestoing
To send out a formal statement to voters about the intentions of someone who is running for public office: The political parties manifestoed, or declared, their policies, principles, and objects in hopes of winning the next election.
maniloquism (s) (noun), maniloquisms (pl)
Communication between individuals who can't hear: The system of maniloquism is used by the deaf who use symbols made with the hands and fingers.
maniloquist (s) (noun), maniloquists (pl)
A person who uses hand and finger symbols to declare information to others who know the signs: Quite often there are maniloquists who are near a speaker making signs so those who can't hear what is being spoken will know what is being verbally presented.
maniple (s) (noun), maniples (pl)
A handful or a small group: In the ancient Roman army, a maniple was a subdivision of a legion containing 60 or 120 men.
manipulate (verb), manipulates; manipulated; manipulating
1. To manage or to influence other people; especially, in a skillful manner: Sharon could manipulate people's feelings, which was her special trait.

Politicians strive to manipulate public opinion in order to get the votes of as many people as possible.

2. To handle, manage, or use; especially, with skill, in some process of treatment or performance: The farmer was able to manipulate a large tractor.
3. To adapt or change (accounts, figures, etc.) to suit one's purpose or advantage: The accountant had been manipulating the ledgers at the accounting firm for several years before being caught.
4. In medicine, to examine or treat by skillful use of the hands, as in palpation, reduction of dislocations, or changing the position of a fetus: The doctor had to manipulate the man’s shoulder to determine whether his collar bone was broken.
To manage or to influence people with skill.
© ALL rights are reserved.

Go to this Word A Day Revisited Index
so you can see more of Mickey Bach's cartoons.

manipulation (muh nip" yuh LAY shuhn) (s) (noun), manipulations (pl)
1. Skillful or artful control or operation: The manipulation of the dials on the TV set produced much better pictures.
2. A shrewd or a devious process to control someone or something in a clever and usually unfair or selfish way to one's personal advantage: Shirley makes shameful manipulations of her parents in order to get what she desires.
manipulative (muh NIP yuh luh tiv, muh nip yuh LAY tiv) (adjective), more manipulative, most manipulative
Controlling or using other people in a clever and often unfair or selfish way: Joe was known by his colleagues to be a manipulative car salesman.
manipulator (s) (noun), manipulators (pl)
1. An individual who controls or has influence on others in a clever or even in an insincere way: On TV dramas, one of the leading characters is usually a manipulator who misuses the feelings of others for his or her own advantages.
2. Someone who uses his or her hands in a skillful manner or operates a machine in a professional way: The manipulator of the new sewing machine produced exquisite clothes, all of which were ordered by wealthy women.
manner (s) (noun), manners (pl)
1. The way something is executed or performed: Shearon practiced the piano in a very concentrated manner, not letting anything disturb her.
2. An expression or taste in art or literature: Mrs. Fisher, the art teacher, was trying to teach her students to draw their pictures in the manner of a cartoonist.
3: The way a person behaves in the presence of others or his or her social demeanor or attitude: The girl at the party certainly had a pretty appearance, but her manner among the guests was disgraceful because she talked about others in derogatory ways.
4. Etymology: from Latin manuarius, "belonging to the hand"; from manus, "hand".
mannerism (s) (noun), mannerisms (pl)
A particular way a person has of talking or moving: The actor in the play could mimic the politician's mannerisms perfectly.

Little Billy had a particular mannerism of putting his finger on his cheek when he wanted something from his mother.

A special kind of style, behavior, or trait.
© ALL rights are reserved.

Go to this Word A Day Revisited Index
so you can see more of Mickey Bach's cartoons.

mannerly (adjective), more mannerly, most mannerly
A reference to being polite and friendly: The old professor was very mannerly with his wife and friends because he would always have a word of praise or encouragement for them.
mansuetude (s) (noun), mansuetudes (pl)
1. The quality or state of being gentle; meekness, tameness: Lynn will always remember her father who had a mansuetude that was quite natural for him because he had a quiet and soothing voice.
2. Gentleness and mildness: Some Christian believers tend to show a mansuetude of love for others by kindly listening to their questions, difficulties, or problems.
3. Etymology: from Latin mansuetudo, "tameness"; from mansuetus, "tamed"; from mansuescere, "to tame"; literally, "to accustom to the hand", from manus, "hand" + suescere, "to accustom, to habituate".
A characteristic of being gentle and mild.
© ALL rights are reserved.

A meekness or mildness in appearance.
© ALL rights are reserved.

Tameness and good behavior.
© ALL rights are reserved.

Go to this Word A Day Revisited Index
so you can see more of Mickey Bach's cartoons.

manual (s) (noun), manuals (pl)
A handbook or written directions: Jake was using the manual for instructions as to how to operate his new washing machine.
manual (adjective), more manual, most manual
1. Done, operated, worked, etc., by the hand or hands rather than by an electrical or electronic device: Hank is still driving a car with a manual gearshift.
2. Involving or using human effort, skill, power, energy, etc.; physical: For years, Mark worked in manual labor until he could find a job with less physical stress.
manual alphabet (s) (noun), manual alphabets (pl)
A system which is used for communicating with each other by hearing-impaired, or deaf, people: The manual alphabet is a procedure in which finger positions represent the letters of a language which is being shown to those who can not hear spoken words.