Etymologically
Log in

manage

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 15 October 2026 at 23:54. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

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

  • 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