Definition of MANACLE

manacle

Meanings

Plural: manacles

Noun

  • shackle that consists of a metal loop that can be locked around the wrist; usually used in pairs
  • 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.
  • A fetter, a restriction.

Verb

  • confine or restrain with or as if with manacles or handcuffs
  • To confine with manacles.

Origin / Etymology

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)).
The verb is probably derived from the noun, although according to the Oxford English Dictionary it is attested slightly earlier.

Synonyms

cuff, handcuff, handlock

Scrabble Score: 11

manacle is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL word
manacle is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
manacle is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 15

manacle is a valid Words With Friends word