manacle

Meaning

Noun

1. A shackle for the wrist, usually consisting of a pair of joined rings; a handcuff; (by extension) a similar device put around an ankle to restrict free movement.
2. (figuratively) A fetter, a restriction.

Verb

To confine with manacles.

Synonyms

handcuff

fetter

shackle

handcuffs

cuff

restrain

chain

confine

manacles

bind

fasten

fetters

secure

shackles

tether

tie

trammel

handlock

moor

obstacle

chains

⛓️

gyves

braces

bond

trammels

gird

constraint

hindrance

hitch

imprison

irons

Translations

manette

χειροπέδη

menotte

manetta

kelepçe

Handschellen

Fessel

esposas

menottes

algema

manicae

χειροπέδες

emmanillar

Handboeien

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈmænək(ə)l/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: manacle

Cognate with French: manicle

In summary

The noun is derived from Middle English manacle, manakelle, manakil, manakyll, manicle, manikil, manycle, manykil, manykle, from Anglo-Norman manicle, manichle (“gauntlet; handle of a plough; (in plural) manacles”), and Middle French manicle, Old French manicle (“armlet; gauntlet; (in plural) manacles”) (modern French manicle, manique (“gauntlet”)), from Latin manicula (“handle of a plough; manacle”), from manus (“hand”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)meh₂- (“to beckon, signal”)) + -cula (from -culus, variant of -ulus (suffix forming diminutive nouns)).
The verb is probably derived from the noun, although according to the Oxford English Dictionary it is attested slightly earlier.