Make Your Point > Archived Issues > MANUMIT
Send Make Your Point issues straight to your inbox.


connect today's word to others:
When you see the word manumit, do you think of stovepipe hats, dusty history textbooks, and long, boring historical speeches full of words like "quarrel" and "whither"? Yeah, I do, too.
Even though the word manumit is a bit stuffy, most often found in historical texts, I think it's worth our time for two reasons: one, it's great for dramatic figurative use; and two, it invites us to explore meaningful connections among words--which we'll do right now!
Let's start by breaking "manumit" in half: "manu" + "mit."
You can see how it's based on Latin words for "hand, or power" (manus) and "send, release, or let go" (mittere). To manumit people is to free them from slavery or from some other controlling condition--to send them from the hand, figuratively speaking.
So let's look at that first half: the part based on manus, "hand or power." Manumit is related to words that involve literal hands, like manicure, manuscript (literally "written by hand"), manufacturing ("making by hand"), and mano a mano ("hand to hand"). Another related word is man__les, meaning "handcuffs, or anything that restrains someone." And a close relative and synonym of manumit is _man___ate, meaning "to set free," with roots that literally mean "to take out of the hand." Can you recall both of those words? Just like manumit, they reference a "hand" in a figurative way: as a symbol of power or control.
Next, let's check out the second half of "manumit:" the part based on mittere, "to send, release, or let go." I bet you can think of plenty of related words that also include "mit" (or "mis") and have something do with sending, releasing, or letting go--like mission, missile, admit, commit, permit, and transmit, along with our words _mit ("to send out or squirt out"), un__mitting ("continuing without becoming any less intense"), and non__mittal ("showing no specific opinion or decision").
Whew! With all those connections drawn, I hope you agree that manumit helps us bind related words together in our minds, giving us a firmer grip on meanings, spellings, and relationships.
And now, let's dive into the word's meaning--which is all about unbinding, about releasing a grip.
(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)
make your point with...
"MANUMIT"
To manumit people or things is to set them free, often from slavery.
Pronunciation:
MAN yuh MITT
Part of speech:
Verb, the transitive kind: "he manumitted them," "they were manumitted from captivity."
Other forms:
manumitted, manumitting, manumitter(s), manumission
How to use it:
This is a serious word with a historical flavor.
Use it when you need to talk about actual slavery--or when you need to compare some condition to slavery, suggesting that it's deeply and inhumanely restrictive.
You might talk literally about people manumitting slaves or other captives, or about slaves or captives being manumitted, often from slavery or captivity.
Or, talk figuratively about people or things being manumitted from (or out of) certain conditions--conditions that were restrictive, prison-like, slavery-like. That is, you can point out the things, events, people, and situations that manumit a person, a body, a mind, a soul, a spirit, etc.
examples:
In a typical Poe story, the narrator suffers from twisted delusions and hideous hallucinations, never seeking manumission from those horrors in the form of medication or other treatment.
"Divers instances of transcendent things may be observed to succeed out of others ... such as milk coagulated into whey or butter or cheese, or purple grapes becoming red wine, or the determined moth which contrives to manumit its body from the caterpillar."
— Evan S. Connell, Alchymic Journals, 2015
study it:
Explain the meaning of "manumit" without saying "set free" or "release from slavery."
try it out:
Think of a time you or someone you know felt relieved after the lifting of a heavy burden.
Fill in the blanks: "(Someone) (did something), feeling newly manumitted."
Example: "After our last final exam, we hauled our textbooks back to the campus store to resell them, feeling newly manumitted."
before you review, play:
Spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—let your working memory empty out first.
Controversial Catchphrases!
This month, let's consider all kinds of important, ongoing controversies in our world.
I'll give you a handful of key phrases that people use when they argue over a controversial question, and you try to pinpoint what that question is. I'll be drawing these issues and phrases from ProCon.org, a fantastic resource for understanding controversial issues (and for introducing those issues to your kids).
From the previous issue:
People who argue "yes" say things like "diverse culture," "stimulate the economy," and "inhumane to deport."
People who argue "no" say things like "rule of law," "jumped the line," and "a privilege, not a right."
What's the question?
The question is, "Should the government allow immigrants who are here illegally to become US citizens?" (Explore this issue at ProCon.org.)
Try this one today:
People who argue "yes" say things like "inflation," "reduce poverty," and "reduce welfare spending."
People who argue "no" say things like "the free market," "raise unemployment," and "hurt businesses."
What's the question?
review today's word:
1. A close opposite of MANUMIT is
A. NEGLECT.
B. DISSOLVE.
C. SUBJUGATE.
2. One problem with voluntourism: the wealthy visitor carries home a false sense of having manumitted _____.
A. a deeply nuanced understanding of poverty
B. helpless children from poverty and starvation
C. a permanent improvement to a poor child's life
Answers are below.
a final word:
Make Your Point is crafted with love and brought to you each weekday morning by Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.
From Liesl's blog:
36 ways to study words.
Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.
Disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.
Answers to review questions:
1. C
2. B
When you see the word manumit, do you think of stovepipe hats, dusty history textbooks, and long, boring historical speeches full of words like "quarrel" and "whither"? Yeah, I do, too.
"MANUMIT" To manumit people or things is to set them free, often from slavery.
In a typical Poe story, the narrator suffers from twisted delusions and hideous hallucinations, never seeking manumission from those horrors in the form of medication or other treatment.
Explain the meaning of "manumit" without saying "set free" or "release from slavery."
Think of a time you or someone you know felt relieved after the lifting of a heavy burden.
Spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—let your working memory empty out first.
1. A close opposite of MANUMIT is
|