manciple
Definition
Noun: A manciple is an officer or steward who is responsible for purchasing provisions and managing supplies, especially in a college, monastery, or other institution.
Usage Examples
- (The steward managed the food supplies for the institution.)
- (The person responsible for buying provisions.)
Advanced Usage
- "manciple's accounts": the financial records kept by a manciple to track expenditures.
- The manciple's accounts showed a surplus for the month, indicating careful budgeting. (The records of the steward's purchases.)
Variants and Related Words
- Mancipial (adj): relating to or characteristic of a manciple.
- The mancipial duties included negotiating with local merchants. (The tasks of the steward.)
Synonyms
- Steward: a person who manages the supplies and finances of an institution.
- Purveyor: one who supplies provisions, especially food.
- Caterer: a person who provides food and drink at events.
Related Idioms
- "to act as manciple": to take on the role of managing supplies.
- During the festival, he acted as manciple for the entire village. (He handled all food procurement and distribution.)
Phrasal Verbs
- Manciple out: (rare, historical) to distribute provisions from the store.
- The manciple mancipled out the weekly rations to the monks. (He distributed the food supplies.)
Notes
- The word "manciple" is now largely archaic or historical, found mainly in texts about medieval or academic institutions. It appears in Chaucer's (the Manciple's Tale).