manumission

noun

man·​u·​mis·​sion ˌman-yə-ˈmi-shən How to pronounce manumission (audio)
: the act or process of manumitting
especially : formal emancipation from slavery

Examples of manumission in a Sentence

the official manumission of the slaves came after the Civil War
Recent Examples on the Web Some states required enslaved people who gained their freedom through manumission to leave the state. Daniel Gonzalez, The Arizona Republic, 26 Feb. 2024 Decades of research had focused on the ability of enslaved people to transcend their status through manumission, celebrating the fact that the buying and granting of freedom was much more common in Rome than in other slaveholding societies. New York Times, 2 Feb. 2021 The jewels of the show are de Pareja’s manumission papers, with which Velázquez granted his freedom in 1650. Elle Decor Editors, ELLE Decor, 11 May 2023 What are the consequences of manumission? Lance Eliot, Forbes, 21 June 2022 In place of the stark American two-caste system of free whites and enslaved blacks, Mr. Taylor seems to prefer the Spanish system of slavery that allowed for easier manumission and racial mixing with free blacks as mediators between masters and slaves. Gordon S. Wood, WSJ, 28 May 2021 His bevels to me are as ambitious an innovation as the manumission of the canvas from the stretcher. New York Times, 28 June 2022 Bellerjeau discovered her manumission (legal freedom) certificate from 1803 and the name of her mother (Pender). Claire Bellerjeau and Tiffany Yecke Brooks, Smithsonian Magazine, 16 May 2022 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. Los Angeles Times, 11 May 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'manumission.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin manumission-, manumissio, from manumittere

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of manumission was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near manumission

Cite this Entry

“Manumission.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/manumission. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

manumission

noun
man·​u·​mis·​sion ˌman-yə-ˈmish-ən How to pronounce manumission (audio)
: a setting free from slavery : emancipation

More from Merriam-Webster on manumission

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