Controlling or influencing someone or something in a skillful or devious manner, often for personal advantage. Present participle of 'manipulate.'
From Latin 'manipulus' meaning 'handful,' from 'manus' (hand) + root of 'plere' (to fill). Originally referred to handling objects by hand, but by the 19th century extended to mean skillful control or influence, often with negative connotations of deception.
The word started innocently enough - it literally meant 'to handle with your hands'! Chiropractors and massage therapists still use 'manipulation' in this original, physical sense, while the psychological meaning of cunning influence developed much later as a metaphorical extension of 'handling' people like objects.
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