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emancipate

[ih-man-suh-peyt]
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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.

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RELATED WORDS

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

Nearby words

  1. email,
  2. emalangeni,
  3. emanant,
  4. emanate,
  5. emanation,
  6. emancipated,
  7. emancipation,
  8. emancipation proclamation,
  9. emancipationist,
  10. emancipator

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. 2019

Examples from the Web for emancipate

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

emancipate

v.

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).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper