manoeuvre

See also: manœuvre and manœuvré

English

Etymology

From Middle French manœuvre (“manipulation, manoeuvre”) and manouvrer (“to manoeuvre”), from Old French manovre (“handwork, manual labour”), from Medieval Latin manopera, manuopera (“work done by hand, handwork”), from manu (“by hand”) + operari (“to work”). First recorded in the Capitularies of Charlemagne (800 AD) to mean "chore, manual task", probably as a calque of the Frankish *handwerc (“hand-work”). Compare Old English handweorc, Old English handġeweorc, German Handwerk.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /məˈnuːvə/

  • Audio (UK)

    (file)

• (US, Canada) IPA^(key): /məˈnuːvɚ/

  • Audio (US)

    (file)

• Rhymes: -uːvə(ɹ)
• Hyphenation: ma‧noeu‧vre

Noun

manoeuvre (plural manoeuvres)

1. UK, Canada, Ireland, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand spelling of maneuver.
   • 2021, “Mercedes-Benz self-driving car technology approved for use”, in Fleet news:

     The system also reacts to unexpected traffic situations and handles them independently by employing evasive manoeuvres within the lane or by braking manoeuvres

Verb

manoeuvre (third-person singular simple present manoeuvres, present participle manoeuvring, simple past and past participle manoeuvred)

1. (transitive) UK, Canada, Ireland, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand spelling of maneuver.
   • 1959 November, “Talking of Trains: S.R. Motor Luggage Vans”, in Trains Illustrated, page 523:

     Three pairs of double doors are provided on each side, wide enough to take pallet trucks, and strengthened floors to allow the trucks to manoeuvre inside the vehicle.

Derived terms

• manoeuvrable

See also

• overtaking

Anagrams

• manoeuver, manœuver