manso

See also: Manso

Catalan

Etymology

Inherited from Vulgar Latin *mānsus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [ˈman.su]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic, Valencia) [ˈman.so]

• Audio (Barcelona):

  (file)

Adjective

manso (feminine mansa, masculine plural mansos, feminine plural manses)

1. alternative form of mans (“tame”)

Noun

manso m (plural mansos)

1. (colloquial) guy, chap, fellow

   Synonym: paio

2. (colloquial) boyfriend

   Synonym: amant

Further reading

• “manso”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007

Chavacano

Etymology

From Spanish manso (“tame”).

Adjective

manso

1. meek; tame

Galician

Etymology

From Old Galician-Portuguese manso, from Vulgar Latin *mansus, from Latin mansuetus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈmansʊ]

Adjective

manso (feminine mansa, masculine plural mansos, feminine plural mansas)

1. (of animals) tame (mild and well-behaved)

   Antonym: bravo

2. (of plants) grafted; cultured

   Antonym: bravo

3. (of people) meek; gentle

   Antonym: bravo

4. (of nature and natural phenomena) mild; gentle

Derived terms

• mansedume

References

• Seoane, Ernesto Xosé González; Granja, María Álvarez de la; Agrelo, Ana Isabel Boullón (2006–2022), “manso”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval [Dictionary of dictionaries of Medieval Galician] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Barreiro, Xavier Varela; Guinovart, Xavier Gómez (2006–2018), “manso”, in Corpus Xelmírez: corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval [Corpus Xelmírez: linguistic corpus of Medieval Galicia] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “manso”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “manso”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “manso”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈman.so/
• Rhymes: -anso
• Hyphenation: màn‧so

Etymology 1

From Vulgar Latin *mānsus, back-formed from Latin mānsuētus.

Adjective

manso (feminine mansa, masculine plural mansi, feminine plural manse)

1. (literary, regional) meek, tame

   Synonyms: docile, mansueto

   • 1310s, Dante Alighieri, “Canto XXVII”, in Purgatorio [Purgatory], lines 76–78; republished as Giorgio Petrocchi, editor, La Commedia secondo l'antica vulgata [The Commedia according to the ancient vulgate], 2^nd revised edition, Florence: publ. Le Lettere, 1994:

     Quali si stanno ruminando manse
     le capre, state rapide e proterve
     sovra le cime avante che sien pranse […]

     Like the meek ruminating goats, having been swift and haughty upon the mountaintops before being sated […]

Related terms

• mansueto

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Medieval Latin mānsum (“residence”), from Latin mānsus, perfect passive participle of maneō (“to stay, remain”).

Noun

manso m (plural mansi)

1. (historical) an amount of land (usually 12 jugerums) considered cultivable yearly by using two oxen or a single plough

Latin

Participle

mānsō

1. dative/ablative masculine/neuter singular of mānsus

Portuguese

Etymology

From Vulgar Latin *mānsus, from Latin mānsuetus.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈmɐ̃.su/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈmɐ̃.su/
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈmɐ̃.so/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈmɐ̃.su/

• Rhymes: -ɐ̃su
• Hyphenation: man‧so

Adjective

manso (feminine mansa, masculine plural mansos, feminine plural mansas)

1. (of animals) tame (mild and well-behaved)
2. (of people) meek; submissive (following orders without protest)
3. (of nature and natural phenomena) mild; gentle; tranquil

Synonyms

• (submissive): submisso
• (mild): tranquilo, calmo, brando

Derived terms

• mansamente

Related terms

• amansar

Further reading

• “manso”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “manso”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmanso/ [ˈmãn.so]
• Rhymes: -anso
• Syllabification: man‧so

Etymology 1

Inherited from Vulgar Latin *mānsus, from Latin mānsuētus.

Adjective

manso (feminine mansa, masculine plural mansos, feminine plural mansas)

1. tame, meek; not threatening

   Antonyms: bravo, amenazante, agresivo, peligroso, perrucho

Derived terms

• pino manso

Noun

manso m (plural mansos)

1. bellwether (the leading sheep, goat or res of a flock)

Derived terms

• amansar
• ortiga mansa
• yerba del manso
• yerba mansa

Related terms

• mansedumbre

Etymology 2

Possibly an alteration of inmenso.

Adjective

manso (feminine mansa, masculine plural mansos, feminine plural mansas)

1. (colloquial, intensifier, Chile, Panama) gigantic, big

Usage notes

• Used before the noun in exclamatory phrases, sometimes preceded by an article

Further reading

• “manso”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025