Etymograph

English

manager

Manager comes from English manage, and goes back to Old French manege.

  1. Old Frenchc. 842–1400manege1
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500*manage1reconstructed
  3. English1500–presentmanage1
  4. Englishearliest quotation 2009manager1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English manager
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2009, Bernard M. Bass, Ruth Bass: “Although they did not want to risk wasting money,…”.

Lineage

  1. Old Frenchc. 842–1400manegeWiktionary, English manager
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500*manageWiktionary, English managerreconstructed
  3. English1500–presentmanageWiktionary, English manager
  4. Englishearliest quotation 2009managerWiktionary, English manager. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2009, Bernard M. Bass, Ruth Bass: “Although they did not want to risk wasting money,…”

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Today it means

noun A person whose job is to manage something, such as a business, a restaurant, or a sports team.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “manager”. 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 / Old French manege / manager