Manhandle

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /ˈmænˌhæn.dəl/

Definitions

1. To handle a person with excessive force or roughness, often in a way that disregards their comfort or consent
2. The act of moving or controlling someone by applying physical strength in a rough or harsh manner
3. Engaging with a person using strong physical pressure or force, typically without gentleness or care

Etymology: "Manhandle" is a plain compound: "man," meaning a male person, joined to "handle," meaning to touch, move, or manage with the hands. Its earliest form in Middle English was "manne-handlen" or "man handelen," so the sense of physically managing someone was built into the word from the start, with the hands doing the work and "man" naming the one being handled. Over time the word kept its literal sense of using the hands on a person, and the "man" part has never been read as anything but a general reference to a human being. The rough, forceful connotation that the modern meaning carries grows naturally from the idea of handling someone by brute physical means rather than gently or politely.

Synonyms: roughhouse, maltreat

Antonyms: treat gently