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The Collaborative International Dictionary
Manciple

Manciple \Man"ci*ple\, n. [From OF. mancipe slave, servant (with l inserted, as in participle), fr. L. mancipium. See Mancipate.] A steward; a purveyor, particularly of a college or Inn of Court.
--Chaucer.

Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
manciple

"officer or servant who purchases provisions for a college, monastery, etc.," early 13c., from Old French mancipe "servant, official, manciple," from Latin mancipium "servant, slave, slave obtained by legal transfer; the legal purchase of a thing," literally "a taking in hand," from manus "hand" (see manual (adj.)) + root of capere "to take" (see capable).

Wiktionary
manciple

n. A person in charge of purchase and store food and other provisions in a monastery, college, or court of law.

Wikipedia
Manciple

A manciple is a person in charge of the purchase and storage of food at an institution such as a college, monastery, or court of law. Manciples were sometimes also in charge of catering more generally, including food preparation. The title still survives in some Oxford and Cambridge colleges, at the Charterhouse in the City of London, in the Party of the Right of Yale University, in Freemasonry as the title of one of the council officers in the Order of Royal and Select Masters (or Council of Cryptic Masons), and in the name of Manciple Street in the borough of Southwark, London SE1.

The term comes from Middle English "maunciple", taken from Old French, which in turn comes from the Latin "mancipium", "manceps", a purchaser of stores.

Usage examples of "manciple".

Chaunceller, alle doctours, maistres, other graduats, alle studients, alle scholers, and alle clerkes, dwellyng within the precint of the Universite, of what condicion, ordre or degree soever they be, every dailly continuell servant to eny of theym bifore rehersed belonging, the styward of the Universite wyth their menyall men, also alle Bedells with their dailly servants and their householdes, all catours, manciples, spencers, cokes, lavenders, povere children of scolers or clerkes, within the precinct of the said Universite, also alle other servants taking clothing or hyre by the yere, half yere, or quarter of the yere takyng atte leste for the yere vi.

Cook may one day bring the Manciple to account, or pay him off, for the rebuke of his drunkenness.

By that the Manciple his tale had ended, The sunne from the south line was descended So lowe, that it was not to my sight Degrees nine-and-twenty as in height.