English
manacles
Manacles comes from Old French manicle, from Latin manicula ‘a little hand’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)meh₂- ‘to beckon’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)meh₂-1‘to beckon’uncertain
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*manus2‘hand’uncertain
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmanus3‘hand’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmanicula3‘a little hand’diminutive form of manus
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400manicle3
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500manicle3
- Englishtodaymanacles3
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Italic *manus, which cites de Vaan
- 2 Wiktionary, Latin manus, which cites Mallory, Adams
- 3 Wiktionary, English manacles
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)meh₂-Wiktionary, Proto-Italic *manus, which cites de Vaan‘to beckon’uncertain
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*manusWiktionary, Latin manus, which cites Mallory, Adams‘hand’uncertain
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmanusWiktionary, English manacles‘hand’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmaniculaWiktionary, English manacles‘a little hand’diminutive form of manus
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400manicleWiktionary, English manacles
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500manicleWiktionary, English manacles
- EnglishtodaymanaclesWiktionary, English manacles
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *(s)meh₂- ‘to beckon’
amaze, mastiff, commandery, 27 more
through Proto-Italic *manus ‘hand’
commander, mandate, commodore, commendation, commando, commandant, commandment, mannered, commandeer, 26 more
through Latin manus ‘hand’
main, manner, manage, manual, manipulation, manufacture, manga, manifesto, manifest, manus, mano, 26 more
Today it means
noun manacle
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “manacles”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Italic *manus, Latin manus. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *(s)meh₂- / manacles