manage

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈmæn.ɪdʒ/^[1]

Etymology

It was first spelled manege, borrowed from Italian maneggiare (“to handle, especially to control a horse”),^[2][3][4] from Vulgar Latin *manizāre,^[2] from Latin manus (“hand”),^[3][2] from Proto-Indo-European *man- (“hand”).^[3] The spelling was changed to manage by 1570 under the influence of the suffix -age,^[2][5] and the meaning was influenced by French manège “horsemanship” and ménager “to use carefully”, from ménage “household”.^[2][5] It is related to manual, manner, manoeuvre and manuscript.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

To handle, train or direct a horse: 1561 in Barnhart, the OED and MWU.^[2][7][4] The noun manage, the training of a horse, is from before 1586.^[7]

Semantic evolution

The first things managed were horses.^[6] By the 1570s the verb was used of conducting a war or other undertaking (1579 in Barnhart), and of directing the affairs of a household or business from 1609.^[2][3] Wielding a tool or weapon by hand is from the 1580s.^[3] The sense “to succeed in doing” is by 1732,^[3] and “to get by, cope” is suggested by the 1650s and frequent from the mid-19th century.^[3] In the 17th and 18th centuries the verb was often identified with French ménager “to use sparingly”.^[5] Management and manageable are from 1598.^[2]

Timeline

• 1561 – to handle or train a horse.^[2][7]
• 1579 – to conduct an undertaking.^[2]
• 1580s – to wield by hand.^[3]
• 1598 – management, manageable.^[2]
• 1609 – to direct the affairs of a business or household.^[2]
• 1650s – to get by.^[3]
• 1732 – to succeed in doing.^[3]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. To be in charge of and run a business, organization or group of people.
2. To succeed in doing something, especially something difficult.
3. To cope or get by, especially with little money.
4. To control or handle a tool, animal or person.
5. To use time, money or resources carefully.

Word family

• mismanage
• overmanage
• undermanage
• manageable
• management
• manager
• managerial
• unmanageable

Related words

• manege
• manual
• manus
• manner
• manoeuvre
• manuscript
• menage

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b c Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press