manumission

noun

man·​u·​mis·​sion ˌman-yə-ˈmi-shən 

: the act or process of manumitting

especially : formal emancipation from slavery

Synonyms

• emancipation
• enfranchisement
• freeing
• liberation

Examples of manumission in a Sentence

the official manumission of the slaves came after the Civil War

Recent Examples on the Web

Accordingly, the state passed a 1788 law prohibiting emancipations of people over the age of 50 or incapable of providing for themselves, viewing such manumissions as cynical attempts to avoid supporting the elderly or infirm. —Carolyn Eastman, Smithsonian Magazine, 3 Sep. 2024

Successive volumes of the society’s manumission records are now held by the New-York Historical Society. —Carolyn Eastman, Smithsonian Magazine, 3 Sep. 2024

Indeed, the society’s copies of manumission deeds helped to protect Black women and men against those crimes and other deceptions. —Carolyn Eastman, Smithsonian Magazine, 3 Sep. 2024

The archive contains millions of documents—including ship registries, manumission papers, and slave sales ledgers—making it among the most comprehensive source of its kind in the world. —Tessa Solomon For Artnews, Robb Report, 6 Dec. 2021

Word History

Etymology

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

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

manumission

noun

man·​u·​mis·​sion ˌman-yə-ˈmish-ən 

: a setting free from slavery : emancipation