verb

emancipate

ih-MAN-sih-payt/ɪˈmænsɪpeɪt/

To free someone from another's control.

The court can emancipate a minor from parental control.

Asian young adult receives emancipation order from female judge and walks out independently; readable paper FREED FROM GUARDIANSHIP.

Etymology

eLatinout, away

+manLatinhand

+cipLatinto take

+ateLatinpast-participle ending

The “hand” and “take” elements underlie a Latin term for ownership. With “out,” the word meant release from a father's legal authority, later broadening to freedom from other forms of control.

In context

Ancestry2:07

Being conscientious of the injustice and impropriety of holding my fellow creature in state of slavery, I do hereby emancipate and set free

How Queen Latifah Was Able To Trace Her History To the 1700s | Finding Your Roots | Ancestry® | PBS

More examples

The decree emancipated thousands of people held in slavery.
She hopes to emancipate herself from her family's control.
State law sets strict conditions for emancipating minors.

Forms

emancipate · emancipates · emancipated · emancipating

emancipation noun — The act of freeing someone from control.

emancipator noun — A person who frees others from control.

Similar words

free: More common and broader; also applies to releasing objects.
liberate: Often suggests release from oppression, captivity, or restrictive conditions.