manacle
Syllables: ma·na·cle/ˈmænək(ə)l/US/ˈmænəkəl/
manacle noun: a shackle for the wrist, usually consisting of a pair of joined rings; a handcuff; (by extension) a similar device put around an ankle to restrict free movement.
Noun
manacle (plural manacles)
- A shackle for the wrist, usually consisting of a pair of joined rings; a handcuff; (by extension) a similar device put around an ankle to restrict free movement.
- And gainſt the General we will lift our ſwords
And either lanch his greedie thirſting throat,
Or take him priſoner, and his chaine ſhall ſerue
For Manackles, till he be ranſom’d home.c. 1587–1588 (date written), [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC... - If 'gainſt your ſelfe you be incens'd, wee'le put you / (Like one that meanes his proper harme) in Manacles, / Then reaſon ſafely with you: [...]c. 1608–1609 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Coriolanus”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
- And gainſt the General we will lift our ſwords
- A fetter, a restriction.
- Admit no other way to ſaue his life / [...] that you, his Siſter, / Finding your ſelfe deſir'd of such a perſon, / Whoſe creadit with the Iudge, or owne great place, / Could fetch your Brother from the Manacles / Of the all-building-Law: and that there were / No earthly meane to ſaue him, but that...c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Measure for Measure”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
- It is this [the commandment of God], which is the manacle of melancholy, when menacing ſuicide, and when deaf to every other diſſuaſive, or countroul; which quaſhes the ſilent, lurking purpoſe of diſontent, when misjudging it's preſent, and reckleſs of it's future deſtiny.1795 November 29, Richard Ramsden, The Right to Life: A Sermon Preached before the University of Cambridge, November 29, 1795, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Printed by J. Burges printer to the...
Verb
manacle (third-person singular simple present manacles, present participle manacling, simple past and past participle manacled)
- To confine with manacles.
- [C]ome, / Ile manacle thy necke and feete together: / Sea water ſhalt thou drinke: thy food ſhall be / The freſh-brooke Muſſels, wither'd roots, and huskes / Wherein the Acorne cradled.1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published...
- My lord, I humbly desire that we may not be manacled; if you make any doubt of us, that we may have a greater guard upon us. [...] Mr. Sheriff, I desire that this manacling may be forborn: if you please to clap a guard of a hundred men upon us, I shall pay for it. This is not only a disgrace to me...1649, “185. The Trial of Colonel John Morris, Governor of Pontefract Castle; at the Assizes at the Castle of York, before Mr. John Puleston, and Mr. Baron Thorpe, Justices of Assize, for High...
manacle meaning in Tamil, Urdu, Bengali and Malayalam
manacle in Tamil
- விலங்கிடு, விலங்கு
manacle in Urdu
- بیڑی, ہتھکڑی, بیڑی لگانا, ہتھکڑی لگانا
manacle in Bengali
- হাতকড়া, শৃঙ্খল, হাতকড়া পরানো
manacle in Malayalam
- കൈവിലങ്ങ്, കൈയാമം, ഹസ്തബന്ധനം
Examples of manacle in a sentence
- For my ſake weare this [a bracelet], / It is a Manacle of Loue, Ile place it / Vpon this fayreſt Priſoner.1611 April (first recorded performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Cymbeline”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories...
- "If you will go quietly with us we will employ no force," said the man in uniform; "otherwise we must use these;" and Haldane shuddered as light steel manacles were produced.1877, Edward Payson Roe, A knight of the nineteenth century, Collier, page 109:
- Examining the manacles I saw that they fastened with a massive spring lock.1912 February–July, Edgar Rice Burroughs, “Under the Moons of Mars”, in The All-Story, New York, N.Y.: Frank A. Munsey Co., →OCLC...
- Indeed it is that equipment – notably the chains and manacles – which to this day symbolizes the slave ships themselves.2013, James Walvin, “Mutinies and Revolts”, in Crossings: Africa, the Americas and the Atlantic Slave Trade, London: Reaktion Books, →ISBN...
Forms of manacle
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | manacles |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | manacles |
| present participle | manacling |
| past participle | manacled |
| past | manacled |
Origin of manacle
The noun is derived from Middle English manacle, manakelle, manakil, manakyll, manicle, manikil, manycle, manykil, manykle, from Anglo-Norman manicle, manichle (“gauntlet; handle of a plough; (in plural) manacles”), and Middle French manicle, Old French manicle (“armlet; gauntlet; (in plural) manacles”) (modern French manicle, manique (“gauntlet”)), from Latin manicula (“handle of a plough; manacle”), from manus (“hand”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)meh₂- (“to beckon, signal”)) + -cula (from -culus, variant of -ulus (suffix forming diminutive nouns)). Doublet of manicle and manicule. The verb is probably derived from the noun, although according to the Oxford English Dictionary it is attested slightly earlier.
Words formed from manacle
Questions about manacle
- What does manacle mean?
- Manacle means a shackle for the wrist, usually consisting of a pair of joined rings; a handcuff; (by extension) a similar device put around an ankle to restrict free movement.
- What is manacle in Tamil?
- Manacle in Tamil is விலங்கிடு, விலங்கு. See Manacle meaning in Tamil.
- How do you use manacle in a sentence?
- For my ſake weare this [a bracelet], / It is a Manacle of Loue, Ile place it / Vpon this fayreſt Priſoner.
- What part of speech is manacle?
- Manacle can be a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce manacle?
- Manacle is pronounced /ˈmænək(ə)l/ (UK).
- What is the plural of manacle?
- The plural of manacle is manacles.
Words near manacle in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: manacle (page history and authors); manacle (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); manacle (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); Manacle (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); manacle (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-uk-manacle.oga.
Cite this entry: “manacle.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/manacle. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.