manure

manure
{{11}}manure (n.) "dung or compost used as fertilizer," 1540s, see MANURE (Cf. manure) (v.).
{{12}}manure (v.) c.1400, "to cultivate land," also "to hold property," from Anglo-Fr. meynoverer, O.Fr. manouvrer "to work with the hands, cultivate; carry out; make, produce," from M.L. manuoperare (see MANEUVER (Cf. maneuver) (n.)). Sense of "work the earth" led to "put dung on the soil" (1590s) and to the current noun meaning "dung spread as fertilizer," which is first attested 1540s. Until late 18c., however, the verb still was used in a figurative sense of "to cultivate the mind, train the mental powers."
It is ... his own painfull study ... that manures and improves his ministeriall gifts. [Milton, 1641]
Related: Manured; manuring.

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

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  • Manure — Ma*nure (m[.a]*n[=u]r ), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Manured} (m[.a]*n[=u]rd ); p. pr. & vb. n. {Manuring}.] [Contr, from OF. manuvrer, manovrer, to work with the hand, to cultivate by manual labor, F. man[oe]uvrer. See {Manual}, {Ure}, {Opera}, and cf …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • manure — [mə noor′, mənyoor′] vt. manured, manuring [ME manouren, orig., to farm (land) < Anglo Fr maynoberer < OFr manouvrer, to cultivate, lit., to work with the hands: see MANEUVER] to put manure on or into (soil) n. [< MANURE the vt.] animal… …   English World dictionary

  • manure — ► NOUN ▪ animal dung used for fertilizing land. ► VERB ▪ apply manure to. ORIGIN originally in the sense «cultivate (land)»: from Old French manouvrer (see MANOEUVRE(Cf. ↑manoeuvre)) …   English terms dictionary

  • manure — ma*nure (m[.a]*n[=u]r ), n. Any matter which makes land productive; a fertilizing substance. Especially,, dung, the contents of stables and barnyards, decaying animal or vegetable substances, etc. Dryden. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • manure — [n] fertilizer buffalo chips*, compost, cow chips*, cowplop*, droppings, dung, excrement, guano, maul*, meadow muffins*, mulch; concepts 260,399,429 …   New thesaurus

  • Manure — This article is about organic material used as soil fertilizer. For animal dung used for other purposes, see feces. Animal manure is often a mixture of animal feces and bedding straw, as in this example from a stable. A horse grazes in his… …   Wikipedia

  • manure — manurer, n. manurial, adj. manurially, adv. /meuh noor , nyoor /, n., v., manured, manuring. n. 1. excrement, esp. of animals, or other refuse used as fertilizer. 2. any natural or artificial substance for fertilizing the soil. v.t. 3. to treat… …   Universalium

  • manure — noun ADJECTIVE ▪ animal, chicken, cow, horse, pig ▪ livestock, poultry ▪ farmyard (esp. AmE) …   Collocations dictionary

  • manure — I UK [məˈnjʊə(r)] / US [məˈnʊr] noun [uncountable] solid waste from farm animals, often mixed with other substances and used on crops to help them to grow II UK [məˈnjʊə(r)] / US [məˈnʊr] verb [transitive] Word forms manure : present tense… …   English dictionary

  • manure — n. to spread manure * * * [mə njʊə] to spread manure …   Combinatory dictionary

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