Manor

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈmænə(ɹ)/

Definitions

1. A large house in the countryside, typically the residence of a person of rank or wealth, often with associated lands and tenant farms
2. A substantial dwelling often found in rural settings that serves as the home for an individual of social status or affluence, usually accompanied by surrounding land and agriculture
3. A grand residence located in a rural area, traditionally inhabited by someone of nobility or wealth, which is frequently accompanied by estates and farming lands

Etymology: The word "manor" arrived in English from Old French "manoir," and its deepest meaning is simply "a place to stay." That French noun grew from the Latin verb "manēre," meaning "to remain" or "to dwell," so the original sense of a manor was less about grandeur than about a fixed place of residence. The same Latin root gives English "remain" and "permanent," and it sits behind the word "mansion" as well. English first borrowed the word in its Middle English forms "maner" and "manour," and these early spellings show the French shape still clearly at work. Over the centuries the meaning narrowed from any dwelling to the house of a lord, with the land and tenants that went with it. The word "maenor" is a doublet, a separate descendant of the same Latin root that entered English by a different route, which is why English ended up with two forms from one source.

Synonyms: estate, mansion, hall, residence, house

Antonyms: shack, cottage, hut, shanty, tenement