Manifest
Etymology
From Latin “manifestus,” caught in the act, palpable — probably from “manus” (hand) and a root meaning struck or graspable. The oldest sense is almost physical: manifest guilt is guilt caught red-handed. Hence something manifest is as plain as a thing you could seize with your hand.
adjective · /MAN-uh-fest/
Clearly apparent to the senses or the mind; obvious.
What it names
What is plainly on show — a quality so evident it needs no argument, the visible counterpart to what stays hidden.
Example
His discomfort was manifest — he wouldn’t meet anyone’s eye.
Related idea
What is manifest is open and evident; what is latent is present but hidden. The pair maps the visible against the concealed, the shown against the waiting.
noun · /MAN-uh-fest/
An official list of the cargo, passengers, or crew carried by a ship, aircraft, or truck.
What it names
a shipping or transport document
Example
The customs officer checked the goods against the ship’s manifest.
Related idea
What is on a manifest is literally “made plain” for inspection — the same root as the adjective. Compare corpus, another kind of complete record.
verb · /MAN-uh-fest/
To show or reveal something clearly, or (of a symptom or quality) to become apparent.
What it names
the act of making something evident
Example
The disease first manifests as a mild fever.
Related idea
To manifest is to bring a latent thing into the open. Compare overt.