manifest

Etymology

The adjective is inherited from Middle English manifeste, borrowed from Anglo-Norman manifeste, also manifeste, and partly borrowed directly from their source, Latin manifestus (“caught in the act, flagrant, evident”), early Latin manufestus.^[2][3][4][5] Old French had the word from about 1190, at first meaning "confirmed, proven", and after 1262 "visible, evident".^[2] The Latin adjective is probably formed from manus (“hand”), the source of manual, and -festus, a second element of uncertain meaning that also appears in infestus (“hostile”), the source of infest.^[2][5][6][7] Etymologically, then, what is manifest was "grasped by the hand", and so palpable and obvious.^[6] Barnhart takes the second element as "(able to be) seized" and derives it from an earlier form cognate with Greek and Sanskrit words for courage and overpowering, from Proto-Indo-European *dhers- (“to attack”);^[3] Klein likewise compares Ancient Greek θάρσος (thársos, “courage, audacity”) and the English verb dare.^[8] Hoad, Skeat and Weekley connected it instead with the base of Latin verbs for striking, as in defend and offend,^[9][10][11] while Etymonline reports De Vaan's view that none of the proposed connections is compelling.^[5] The verb is inherited from Middle English manifesten, from Old French manifester (“to make known publicly”) and its source manifestō (“to reveal, disclose”), a derivative of the adjective.^[2][12][8] The noun, first "a manifestation" and then "a public declaration", came partly from the same French word and partly from Italian manifesto, whose source is the neuter of the Latin adjective used as a noun; the same Italian word was later borrowed as manifesto.^[2][9][13]

Earliest recorded meaning

Clearly revealed to the eye, mind or judgement; open to view, obvious: 1385, in a document printed by the Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts.^[2] Barnhart finds both the adjective and the verb about 1380 in Chaucer's translation of Boethius' De Consolatione Philosophiae,^[3] which the OED dates ?a1425 for the verb, "to make evident, reveal".^[2]

Semantic evolution

The verb broadened from showing or revealing a fact (late 14th century) to displaying a quality or feeling through behaviour, from about 1525 (Etymonline dates this "display by actions" sense to the 1560s).^[2][5] From 1726, used reflexively or in the passive, it meant to show oneself as existing or operating, and in the 19th century it was used of diseases.^[2][5] The noun followed the French and Italian manifesto in the sense of a public declaration (1616), and in 1697 came to mean the list of a ship's cargo signed by the master for customs officers;^[2] Etymonline and Barnhart date the cargo sense from 1706.^[5][3] The verb "to record in a manifest" is dated by the OED from an Act of 1541.^[2] In North American railway use a fast freight train was a manifest (1912, or manifest train).^[2][14] Spiritualism gave the verb its senses "of a ghost, to appear" (1858, Hawthorne) and "to will something into being by the power of belief" (1903),^[2] and psychology gave the adjective its use for the literal content of a dream, as against its hidden meaning (1910).^[2][15] The American phrase manifest destiny was much used from about the time of the Mexican War for the belief that the United States was destined to occupy the whole continent;^[5] Etymonline quotes John O'Sullivan's use of it in July 1845.^[5][16]

Timeline

• c. 1380 – adjective and verb in Chaucer's translation of Boethius, according to Barnhart.^[3]
• 1385 – clearly revealed, obvious.^[2]
• ?a1425 – verb, to make evident, show plainly, reveal.^[2]
• 1431 – adverb, manifestly (obsolete by 1542).^[2]
• a1525 – verb, to display a quality or feeling by one's behaviour.^[2]
• 1541 – verb, to record in a cargo list.^[2]
• 1561 – noun, a manifestation, an indication.^[2][3]
• 1616 – noun, a public proclamation, a manifesto.^[2]
• 1681 – manifest of, evidently guilty of (obsolete by 1725).^[2]
• 1697 – noun, the list of a ship's cargo for customs officers.^[2]
• 1726 – reflexive, to reveal itself as existing or operative.^[2]
• 1845 – manifest destiny.^[5]
• 1858 – of a ghost or spirit, to appear.^[2]
• 1903 – to will something into being by belief.^[2]
• 1910 – psychology, of the literal content of a dream.^[2]
• 1912 – a fast freight train.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Easily seen or understood; obvious, evident: Her relief was manifest to everyone in the room.^[15][7][2]
2. (psychology) Of the content of a dream: as it is remembered and reported, as opposed to its latent meaning.^[15][2]
3. (obsolete, 1681–1725) manifest of: plainly showing, or evidently guilty of.^[2][17]

Verb

1. To show plainly; to reveal or display: The patient manifested no sign of fever.^[15][7][2]
2. To be evidence of; to prove.^[15][2]
3. (reflexive) To appear or become evident: The illness can manifest itself years later.^[7][2]
4. Of a ghost or spirit: to appear in visible form.^[15][2]
5. To record in a ship's or aircraft's manifest.^[15][2]
6. To try to bring something into being by force of belief or will.^[2]

Noun

1. A document listing the cargo, passengers or crew of a ship, aircraft or train, for customs or other officials.^[15][2]
2. (North America) A fast freight train.^[2][14]
3. (rare) A manifestation or indication.^[7][2]
4. A public declaration; a manifesto.^[7][2]

Word family

• manifestly
• manifester
• manifestable
• manifestness
• nonmanifest
• premanifest
• unmanifest
• manifesto

Related words

• infest
• manifestation
• manual
• dare

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
7. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
8. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
9. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
10. ^ Skeat, Walter W. (1911), A Concise Etymological Dictionary of the English Language, new ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
11. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
12. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
13. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
14. ^ a b Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
15. ^ a b c d e f g h Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
16. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
17. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.