manumission

IPA/ˌmænjuˈmɪʃn/
KK[mˌɑnumˈɪʃən]IPA/ˌmænjuˈmɪʃn/

manumission — noun

  • manumissionsingular
  • manumissionsplural

1. a legal act that ends an enslaved person's status as property and gives that per

1.nounC2
Definition

a legal act that ends an enslaved person's status as property and gives that person freedom.

Example

The king granted manumission to the cook after twenty years of service.

grant manumission to + person

Brooke received manumission in her owner's will after his death.

receive manumission by will

Common collocations
  • grant manumission
  • receive manumission
  • manumission by will
  • manumission by law
  • conditional manumission
Synonyms
  • emancipation

    broader formal word for legal or social release, not only release from slavery

  • liberation

    stronger and often linked to struggle, war, or political conflict

  • freedom

    the broad everyday result, without the legal-historical focus

Antonyms
  • enslavement

    the condition of being held as a slave that manumission ends

  • bondage

    formal word for being held under another person's control

Grammar Patterns

grant manumission to + person

receive manumission

manumission by + will/law

Usage Note

Mostly appears in historical or legal writing about slavery. Common verbs are 'grant' and 'receive', and the person freed is often introduced with 'to' or shown through a will or court order.

Common Mistakes

The new job gave her manumission from her parents.
The new job gave her independence from her parents.
'manumission' is used for release from slavery, not ordinary personal freedom.
The judge manumissioned the workers in one ruling.
The judge manumitted the workers in one ruling.
'manumission' is the noun; the verb is 'manumit'.

Word family

  • manumit
    verbC2
  • manumitted
    adjectiveC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

'Freedom' is the broad everyday word for living without control. 'Liberation' is stronger and often suggests release after a fight, war, or political struggle. 'Emancipation' is a formal word for legal or social release and can apply to many groups or situations. 'Manumission' is the narrowest of the four: it specifically names the legal act of freeing an enslaved person. Because of that narrow meaning, it mostly appears in historical or legal writing about slavery, wills, and ownership. A prisoner may win liberation, a teenager may seek emancipation, but an enslaved person in an older legal system receives manumission.

manumission ↗emancipation ↗liberation ↗freedom ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • grant manumission
  • receive manumission
  • manumission by will
  • manumission by law

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinEnglish

From Latin 'manumissio', from 'manumittere', literally 'to send out of the hand'. In Roman law the image of the hand suggested an owner's control, so the word named the legal act of releasing a slave from that power. English kept the word mainly for historical and legal discussions of slavery.