Manhandling

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Treating a person with excessive force or roughness, often involving physical pushing or grabbing
2. Using more physical strength than necessary on someone, typically in a controlling or aggressive way
3. Interacting with an individual in a harsh or forceful manner, implying a lack of care or gentle treatment

Etymology: Manhandling is the present participle and gerund of "manhandle," a verb that began in Middle English as "manne-handlen" or "man handelen." Its parts are plain and English-born: "man" in the old sense of a male person, and "handle," meaning to work with the hands. Put together, the verb originally meant handling a person with the hands, which is how it still sounds today. The surprise is in the second half of the story. The "man" in the word is not the generic "man" of "mankind" or the English adjective of a manly sort, but a reference to a human being used as a unit of physical labour. The sense of moving something heavy by brute human muscle, rather than by machine or lever, is what gave the word its early shape. Over time that physical sense of hauling or pushing people about came to dominate, and the modern meaning of rough, forceful treatment of a person grew directly from it.

Synonyms: rough handling, mishandling