Etymologically
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manège

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 17 October 2026 at 19:06. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ma.nɛʒ/[1]

Forms

manège m (plural manèges)[1] Manegge (1606); written manege (Académie 1694, 1718), manège (1740), manége (1762–1835), manège from 1878.[2][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Italian maneggio (“handling; horse training”) (1590), a back-formation from maneggiare (“to handle; to train a horse”),[3][2][4][1][5] derived from mano (“hand”), from Latin manus (“hand”), the source of main.[2][6] The Italian verb corresponds to French manier, and the Grand Robert and the Petit Robert even take it from French.[2][4][7][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the 16th century (Chronique bordelaise) it is the art of training horses[6][3][2]; Cotgrave (1611) records it both for the training and for the place where it is done.[6][3][2]

Semantic evolution

Riding halls spread in France at the end of the 16th century: large rectangular rooms with tracks, built for the nobility and later the bourgeoisie; the one built at the Tuileries for Louis XV in 1720 became famous when the Legislative Assembly met there and the Republic was proclaimed in 1792.[2] Horse shows in the riding halls led to the circus.[2]

From the start of the 17th century (1606[2][9][3]; Mme de Sévigné, 1671) the word is used figuratively of a way of behaving, often a crafty, calculated one, as a trained horse yields to every command.[2][9][3] By analogy it named a machine turned by a horse walking in a circle (1812), and also from this the merry-go-round, manège de chevaux de bois (1893), and any fairground ride.[3][6][8]

Timeline

  • 1590 – Italian maneggio “horse training”.[3][2]
  • 16th century – The art of training horses.[6]
  • 1606 – Figurative manegge, a way of behaving.[2]
  • 1611 – A riding school (Cotgrave).[3][4]
  • 1671 – Crafty dealings (Mme de Sévigné).[9][3]
  • 1720 – The riding hall of the Tuileries.[2]
  • 1812 – A machine turned by a horse.[3][6]
  • 1893 – Manège de chevaux de bois.[3][6]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A riding school or arena; the art of training horses and riders.[8][10]
  2. A merry-go-round, carousel; a fairground ride.[10][1]
  3. (figurative) A crafty way of behaving; a ploy, little game: je vois clair dans son manège.[3][1]
  4. A machine driven by an animal walking in a circle.[8][6]

Word family

  • manéger
  • manier
  • main
  • English manège

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  4. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 6/1, 295a
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  7. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  8. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  9. ^ a b c Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
  10. ^ a b Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)