emancipate

[ih-man-suh-peyt]

See more synonyms for emancipate on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object), e·man·ci·pat·ed, e·man·ci·pat·ing.

to free from restraint, influence, or the like.
to free (a slave) from bondage.
Roman and Civil Law. to terminate paternal control over.

Origin of emancipate

1615–25; < Latin ēmancipātus (past participle of ēmancipāre) freed from control, equivalent to ē- e-¹ + man(us) hand + -cip- (combining form of capere to seize) + -ātus -ate¹

Related formse·man·ci·pa·tive, adjectivee·man·ci·pa·tor, nounnon·e·man·ci·pa·tive, adjectiveun·e·man·ci·pa·tive, adjective

Synonym study

1, 2. See release.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for emancipate

loosen, liberate, unbind, loose, deliver, enfranchise, disencumber, release, discharge, manumit, affranchise, unchain, disenthral, unfetter, unshackle

Examples from the Web for emancipate

Contemporary Examples of emancipate

The desire to emancipate Greece, the birthplace of democracy, ran strong among the British for centuries.
Poet and Rake, Lord Byron Was Also an Interventionist With Brains and Savvy
Michael Weiss
February 16, 2014
Was the president planning to act on the wishes of the radicals of his party and emancipate all the slaves?
Lincoln the Primitive Communicator? What He Can Teach Modern Politicians
Douglas L. Wilson
December 15, 2012
Namely, that we are narcissistic, entitled, financial drains on our parents, unable to emancipate, and excessively solipsistic.
Give Millennials a Break!
Hannah Seligson
May 13, 2012
“Like so many other young people in this country, Timmy, when he reached age 18, was allowed to emancipate,” says Jeannette.
How a Psychiatric Slip-Up Killed a Cop
Mansfield Frazier
November 3, 2009

Historical Examples of emancipate

There was a Spartan law forbidding masters to emancipate their slaves.
Philothea
Lydia Maria Child
He could not emancipate himself sufficiently from the tumult of his own sympathies.
Diderot and the Encyclopdists
John Morley
It neither made him to be humane to his slaves, nor to emancipate them.
The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass
And my family have been voting for two centuries to emancipate this fellow!
The Young Duke
Benjamin Disraeli
The disposition to emancipate them is strongest in Virginia.
Anti-Slavery Opinions before the Year 1800
William Frederick Poole

British Dictionary definitions for emancipate

emancipate

verb (tr)

to free from restriction or restraint, esp social or legal restraint
(often passive) to free from the inhibitions imposed by conventional morality
to liberate (a slave) from bondage

Derived Formsemancipated, adjectiveemancipative, adjectiveemancipator or emancipist, nounemancipatory (ɪˈmænsɪpətərɪ, -trɪ), adjective

Word Origin for emancipate

C17: from Latin ēmancipāre to give independence (to a son), from mancipāre to transfer property, from manceps a purchaser; see manciple

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for emancipate

1620s, from Latin emancipatus, past participle of emancipare "declare (someone) free, give up one's authority over," in Roman law, the freeing of a son or wife from the legal authority (patria potestas) of the pater familias, to make his or her own way in the world; from ex- "out, away" (see ex-) + mancipare "deliver, transfer or sell," from mancipum "ownership," from manus "hand" (see manual) + capere "take" (see capable). Related: Emancipated; emancipating. Adopted in the cause of religious toleration (17c.), then anti-slavery (1776). Also used in reference to women who free themselves from conventional customs (1850).