Etymologically
Log in

managerial

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 31 October 2026 at 07:05. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˌmænɪˈd͡ʒɪəɹi.əl/[1]
  • US: /ˌmænəˈd͡ʒɪɹi.əl/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English manager + -ial,[2][3][4][5] perhaps on the model of ministerial.[2] manager is the agent noun of manage,[3][2] a verb first used of handling and training a horse,[3] and ultimately from Italian maneggiare (“to handle, touch; to control a horse”), from Latin manus (“hand”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of or relating to a manager: 1758, in W. Shirley's remarks on the state of the drama,[2] where the manager is that of a theatre, the sense the OED once gave as the main one.[6] Etymonline and the first edition of the OED dated it to 1767,[3][6] and Dictionary.com to 1760–70.[4]

Semantic evolution

The adjective followed its base: manager was applied to a person who runs a business or a public institution from 1705,[3] and to one who organizes the activities of performers or players from before 1744.[2] Where the first OED stressed the theatre manager, the revised entry of 2025 says the word now refers chiefly to the manager of a business,[6][2] and the Shorter Oxford speaks of a professional manager within an organization.[7] The noun managerialism, belief in conducting business or other enterprises through professional managers, is dated by the Shorter Oxford to the mid-20th century.[7]

Timeline

  • 1758 – of or relating to a manager, in a work on the drama.[2]
  • 1767 – the first date given by Etymonline and the first edition of the OED.[3][6]
  • mid 20th century – managerialism, reliance on professional managers.[7]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Of or relating to a manager or to management, or to its duties and position: After five years on the shop floor she moved into a managerial role.[8][5][2]
  2. Typical of a manager: He spoke in a brisk, managerial tone.[5][2]

Word family

  • managerially
  • nonmanagerial

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  5. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  8. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins