## Meanings
1. a metal band, chain, or shackle for fastening someone's hands or ankles
2. a restraint or hindrance
3. to restrain with handcuffs or shackles

## Examples
- The prisoner was led away in manacles.
- The regulations acted as a manacle on the company's growth.
- The guards manacled the captives before the march.

## Synonyms
- cuff
- shackle
- fetter
- restraint
- chain
- constraint
- hindrance
- handcuff
- restrain
- bind

## Antonyms
- free
- release
- unshackle

## Etymology
From Latin manus ('hand') plus the diminutive suffix -culus, yielding Late Latin manicula ('handcuff; small hand'); via Old French manicle to Middle English manacle (14th c., 'shackle for the hands'), modern English manacle (handcuff; restraint).

## AI Etymology
Manacle comes from Latin manus ('hand') plus the diminutive suffix -culus, yielding Late Latin manicula ('handcuff; small hand'); via Old French manicle to Middle English manacle (14th c., 'shackle for the hands'), modern English manacle (handcuff; restraint). In current use it is a noun and verb meaning "a metal band, chain, or shackle for fastening someone's hands or ankles". That sense is explained by the older material without requiring a speculative semantic step: the inherited or borrowed base supplies the field of meaning, while the English formation fixes its modern role. The surface form is compositional: its joined elements remain visible in the modern word. A diminutive element is part of the history, marking a smaller or derived form. The word's history is thus visible in its construction: the components remain interpretable even after the whole expression has settled into a conventional English meaning.

## Topics
- Materials & Substances

markdown

manacle

Meanings

Thesaurus

Etymology

Topics

External links

Keyboard Shortcuts

General

Send feedback