Main Entry: man·i·ple

Pronunciation: \ˈma-nə-pəl\

Function: noun

Etymology: Middle English, from Medieval Latin manipulus, from Latin, handful, from manus hand + -pulus (perhaps akin to Latin plēre to fill); from its having been originally held in the hand — more at manual, full

Date: 15th century

1 : a long narrow strip of silk formerly worn at mass over the left arm by clerics of or above the order of subdeacon
2 [Latin manipulus, from manipulus handful] : a subdivision of the Roman legion consisting of either 120 or 60 men