manumission
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of manumission
1375–1425; late Middle English < Latin manūmissiōn- (stem of manūmissiō ). See manumit, mission
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How does manumission compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
In the United States before the Civil War, when owning slaves was common, manumission was the act of setting a slave free. When Hamilton sings about "revolutionary manumission abolitionists" in the musical Hamilton, he's being a tiny bit redundant. Manumission and abolition are both used to mean "freeing slaves" or "a release from slavery." More specifically though, manumission is the act of a slave owner setting slaves free, while emancipation (and abolition) involve government action. When slavery was legal in the U.S., most who opposed it believed in all three.
Vocabulary lists containing manumission
Send a Message: Mit and Miss
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Hamilton
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Body Language: Man ("Hand")
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Ms. Southon rightly appreciates that manumission was a tool of slave-owners’ power, but she excessively minimizes how common it was.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
Cascading from the table’s edge is a manumission document releasing a family named Moore from chattel slavery as burning incense and a nearby plate of water quietly consecrate the sober scene.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 11, 2022
But it further tightened protections for enslavers, limiting taxes on enslaved people and prohibiting manumission.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 1, 2021
They found a manumission deed dated April 10, 1804 that named Moses along with six other freed slaves.
From Washington Times ● Feb. 28, 2021
When Mrs. Garner passed, Caesar and his family mourned and tended to the farm, awaiting official word of their manumission.
From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
