Manoeuvres

Part of speech: noun, verb

Definitions

1. Deliberate movements or exercises, especially of troops or equipment in a military context ; deliberate physical or mental actions demonstrating skill or careful planning
2. Coordinated military or strategic operations designed to achieve a goal ; skillful or calculated acts requiring dexterity or strategy
3. Controlled and practiced movements used by armed forces for training or tactics ; artful or thoughtful maneuvers involving precision or strategy

Etymology: The original sense had nothing to do with armies. In the Capitularies of Charlemagne, dating to around 800 AD, the Latin "manuopera" meant simply a chore or manual task, work done by hand. The Latin pieces are "manu" ("by hand") and "operari" ("to work"), and the word passed through Old French "manovre" ("handwork, manual labour") before reaching Middle French, where it took on the sense of manipulating or handling things. The word is probably a calque of a Frankish term, "*handwerc," meaning "hand-work," which corresponds to Old English "handweorc" and German "Handwerk." In other words, the idea of work done with the hands was carried across several Germanic and Romance languages, with the Latin version adopting the Germanic image. From handling objects by hand, the sense widened to skilful, planned movements, and eventually to the military exercises of troops and equipment that the word now usually calls to mind.

Synonyms: maneuvers, movements, operations, actions, strategies

Antonyms: inaction, immobility, stagnation