Word of the Day

: May 23, 2009

manumit

verb man-yuh-MIT

What It Means

: to release from slavery

manumit in Context

After they were manumitted by the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865, millions of former slaves celebrated their newfound freedom.

Did You Know?

To set someone free from captivity is in effect to release that person from the hand, or control, of the captor. You can use this analogy to remember that "manumit" derives ultimately from the Latin noun "manus," meaning "hand," plus the Latin verb "mittere," meaning "to let go" or "send." The two roots joined hands in Latin to form the verb "manumittere" (meaning "to free from slavery"), which in turn passed into Anglo-French as "manumettre" and eventually into Middle English as "manumitten." "Manus" has handed down other words to English as well. One of them is "emancipate," which is both a relative and synonym of "manumit."