emancipate

American  

[ih-man-suh-peyt] / ɪˈmæn səˌpeɪt /

verb (used with object)

emancipated, emancipating

1. to free from restraint, influence, or the like.

2. to free (a person) from bondage or slavery.

3. Roman and Civil Law. to terminate paternal control over.

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emancipate British  

/ -trɪ, ɪˈmænsɪpətərɪ, ɪˈmænsɪˌpeɪt /

verb

1. to free from restriction or restraint, esp social or legal restraint

2. (often passive) to free from the inhibitions imposed by conventional morality

3. to liberate (a slave) from bondage

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Related Words

See release.

Other Word Forms

• emancipated adjective
• emancipative adjective
• emancipator noun
• emancipatory adjective
• nonemancipative adjective
• unemancipative adjective

Etymology

Origin of emancipate

First recorded in 1615–25; from Latin ēmancipātus (past participle of ēmancipāre ) “freed from control,” equivalent to ē- “out of, from” ( e- ¹ ) + man(us) “hand” + -cip- (combining form of capere “to seize”) + -ātus past participle suffix ( -ate ¹ )

Explanation

If you emancipate someone, you set them free from something. At the end of the Civil War, slaves were emancipated and became free men and women. If you break down emancipate, you have e- "out," -man- from the Latin manus "hand," and -cip- from the Latin verb "to take." Put it together, and you have "to be taken out of someone's hands" — a good definition of freedom. The American Revolution was about colonists emancipating themselves from British rule. As a legal term, if a child is emancipated, he or she is declared independent from parental control.

Example Sentences

Bynes' home environment was so troubling that she attempted to emancipate from her parents when she was around 16 or 17.

From Salon • Mar. 23, 2024

Following the French Revolution, much of Western Europe began to emancipate their Jews—but by the mid-19th century, it became clear that the initial promise of emancipation had not brought about the dreamed-for safety.

From Slate • Dec. 10, 2023

How were you able to emancipate yourself from shame?

From New York Times • Dec. 6, 2023

Even if there were an evolutionary link between meat consumption and becoming human, we should be able to emancipate ourselves from it today.

From Scientific American • Oct. 25, 2023

Lafayette had already attempted without success to convince George Washington to emancipate his slaves and allow them to live in freedom on an island Lafayette offered to purchase.

From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis

Related Words

• liberate
• loosen