English
maniable
Maniable comes from Middle French maniable, and goes back to Latin manus ‘hand’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmanus1‘hand’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600maniable1
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500manyable1
- Englishearliest quotation 1605maniable1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English maniable
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1605, Francis Bacon, The First Booke: “[A]nd it is without all controuerſie, that learning doth…”.
Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmanusWiktionary, English maniable‘hand’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600maniableWiktionary, English maniable
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500manyableWiktionary, English maniable
- Englishearliest quotation 1605maniableWiktionary, English maniable. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1605, Francis Bacon, The First Booke: “[A]nd it is without all controuerſie, that learning doth…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *(s)meh₂- ‘to beckon’
amaze, mastiff, commandery, 26 more
through Proto-Italic *manus ‘hand’
commander, mandate, commodore, commendation, commando, commandant, commandment, mannered, commandeer, 25 more
through Latin manus ‘hand’
main, manner, manage, manual, manufacture, manga, manipulation, manifesto, manifest, manus, mano, manacles, 25 more
Today it means
adj manageable
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “maniable”. 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 / Latin manus / maniable