Manica

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A type of long, flowing sleeve or garment that is often associated with certain styles of clothing
2. A decorative or functional piece of clothing that extends from the arm, primarily seen in historical or cultural attire
3. An article of clothing designed to cover and accent the arms, often adding elegance and flair to various outfits

Etymology: "Manica" is the Latin word for a sleeve, and it came into English as "manche" via Old French, a word that eventually gave us "manche" in heraldic and anatomical senses... wait, I need to be careful here. Let me state only what is well established. Latin "manica" meant a sleeve, and more specifically a long sleeve or sleeved garment, and it is connected to "manus," the Latin word for hand. The sleeve, in other words, was named for the hand it covered. Latin also used the word for a handcuff or manacle, a restraint for the hands, which shows the same root idea of something worn on or around the hand or arm. In English, "manica" survives mainly as a learned borrowing used in scientific and historical writing, where it names the long, flowing sleeves of medieval and Renaissance garments and, in some contexts, a sleeve-like covering on an animal or plant structure. Its direct relationship to the common English word "manacle" is through the same Latin root, though "manacle" reached English by a different and more familiar route, through Old French "manicle" from Latin "manicula," a diminutive of "manica."

Synonyms: sleeve, armguard, gauntlet