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maniple.

A division of the Roman army numbering 120 (or sometimes 60) soldiers exclusive of officers; (generally, obsolete) any small body of soldiers.

7 characters3 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈmænɪp(ə)l/Received-Pronunciation/ˈmænəpəl/General-American
  1. A division of the Roman army numbering 120 (or sometimes 60) soldiers exclusive of officers; (generally, obsolete) any small body of soldiers.

    Ancient-Rome
  2. In Western Christianity, an ornamental band or scarf worn upon the left arm as a part of the vestments of a priest in the Roman Catholic Church, and sometimes the Church of England.

    historical
  3. A hand; a fist.

    informal · obsolete
Where this word comes from

From Late Middle English maniple, manyple (“scarf worn as vestment, maniple”), borrowed from Middle French, Old French maniple, manipule (“handful; troop of soldiers; scarf worn as vestment”) (modern French manipule), from Latin manipulus (“bundle, handful; troop of soldiers”), from manus (“hand”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)meh₂- (“to beckon, signal”)) + the weakened root of pleō (“to fill; to fulfil”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pleh₁- (“to fill”)). The English word is cognate with Italian manipulo (“scarf worn as vestment”) (obsolete), manipolo (“handful; troop of soldiers; scarf worn as vestment”). Sense 2 (“part of a priest’s vestments”) is probably from the fact that the item was originally carried in the hand. It may originate from a handkerchief or napkin worn by Roman consuls as an indication of rank.

noun/ˈmænɪp(ə)l/Received-Pronunciation/ˈmænəpəl/General-American
  1. A handful.

    obsolete
Where this word comes from

Probably from Late Latin manipulus (“bundle, handful; drachm”) (see further at etymology 1), modelled on Ancient Greek δράγμα (drágma, “bundle, handful; sheaf”) which was confused with δραχμή (drakhmḗ, “drachm”).

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.