manure English · revision 884

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /məˈnjʊə/ ''(UK)''; /məˈnʊɹ/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The verb is [[inh|enm|manouren|t=to cultivate land]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) [[bor|xno|mainouverer|t=to work with the hands]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) from Old French ''manouvrer'',^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) [[der|la-med|manuoperāre|t=to work by hand]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) from [[la|manū|t=by hand]] and ''operārī'' “to work”.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate) It is a doublet of [[maneuver]].^(Etymonline)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ As a verb, to hold or manage land (before 1400–50)^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995) and to till, cultivate land (c. 1400).^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ From “to work the earth” the verb came to mean “to put dung or compost on the soil” (1599),^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) and the noun “dung used as fertilizer” is recorded from 1549.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) Until the late 18th century the verb was still used figuratively of cultivating the mind, as when Milton wrote of study that “manures” one's gifts.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1400 – verb, to cultivate land.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1549 – noun, dung used as fertilizer.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1540 – verb, to cultivate the mind.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1599 – verb, to fertilize with manure.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # Animal dung, often mixed with straw or bedding, used to [[fertilize]] the soil; also, any fertilizing substance.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To fertilize (soil) with manure.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(obsolete)'' To cultivate.^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[manurer]]

+ * [[manurial]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[maneuver]]

+ * [[manual]]

+ * [[compost]]

+ * [[dung]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}