manor
[man-er]
- (in England) a landed estate or territorial unit, originally of the nature of a feudal lordship, consisting of a lord's demesne and of lands within which he has the right to exercise certain privileges, exact certain fees, etc.
- any similar territorial unit in medieval Europe, as a feudal estate.
- the mansion of a lord with the land belonging to it.
- the main house or mansion on an estate, plantation, etc.
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Origin of manor
1250–1300; Middle English maner < Old French manoir, noun use of manoir to remain, dwell < Latin manēre to remain; see mansion
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for manorial
Historical Examples
They held about five acres, but provided no oxen for the manorial plough-team.
English VillagesP. H. Ditchfield
They are very similar also to the manorial courts in England.
A Source Book for Mediaeval HistoryOliver J. Thatcher
The business of the court may be divided into criminal, manorial and civil.
The manorial authorities cannot bargain with the tenants one by one.
The Agrarian Problem in the Sixteenth CenturyRichard Henry Tawney
Their chief is their elected chief, not their manorial lord.
The English Village CommunityFrederic Seebohm
manor
- (in medieval Europe) the manor house of a lord and the lands attached to it
- (before 1776 in some North American colonies) a tract of land granted with rights of inheritance by royal charter
- a manor house
- a landed estate
- British slang a geographical area of operation, esp of a gang or local police force
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Word Origin
C13: from Old French manoir dwelling, from maneir to dwell, from Latin manēre to remain
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for manorial
manor
n.
late 13c., "mansion, habitation, country residence, principal house of an estate," from Anglo-French maner, Old French manoir "abode, home, dwelling place; manor" (12c.), noun use of maneir "to dwell," from Latin manere "to stay, abide," from PIE root *men- "to remain" (see mansion). As a unit of territorial division in Britain and some American colonies (usually "land held in demesne by a lord, with tenants") it is attested from 1530s.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper