Manure and Manoeuvre Are the Same Word
Manure is animal waste used as fertiliser. It comes from a phrase meaning to work by hand, which also gave us manoeuvre.
Manure is animal dung used to fertilise land. Its ancestry is startling: it comes from Old French *manouvrer*, to work by hand, from Latin *manu operari* — the same phrase that gives English *manoeuvre*. To manure land originally meant to cultivate it by hand, and the word narrowed to the material spread on it.
- Animal waste as fertiliser. *Well-rotted manure.*
- To spread manure. *Manure the beds.*
- Green manure — a crop grown to be dug in. *Sow a green manure.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | manure | Farmyard manure. |
| Verb | manure | Manure the field. |
| Related | manoeuvre | A clever manoeuvre. |
| Related | manual | Manual work. |
| Related | compost | Garden compost. |
How it is used in a sentence
- Well-rotted manure improves soil structure.Not just nutrients.
- Fresh manure can scorch plants.It must be composted first.
- Manure and manoeuvre share a root.Working by hand.
Soil improvers
- Farmyard manure — dung mixed with bedding straw
- Green manure — a crop grown and dug in to add organic matter
- Compost — decomposed plant material
- Leaf mould — decomposed leaves, a soil conditioner
- Nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium — the three main nutrients supplied
From Anglo-French *mainoverer*, to cultivate by hand, from Latin *manu operari*, to work with the hand.
Are manure and manoeuvre related?
Yes. Both come from a Latin phrase meaning to work by hand, arriving in English by different routes.
What is green manure?
A crop such as clover or mustard grown specifically to be dug back into the soil, adding organic matter and nutrients.