Man"i*ple (?), n. [L. manipulus, maniplus, a handful, a certain number of soldiers; manus hand + root of plere to fill, plenus full: cf. F.maniple. See Manual, and Full, a.]
1.
A handful
. [R.]
B. Jonson.
2.
A division of the Roman army numbering sixty men exclusive of officers, any small body of soldiers; a company.
Milton.
3.
Originally, a napkin; later, an ornamental band or scarf worn upon the left arm as a part of the vestments of a priest in the Roman Catholic Church. It is sometimes worn in the English Church service.
© Webster 1913.