What does manufactory mean?
Manufactory is a now somewhat formal or dated noun meaning a factory: an establishment in which goods are produced by manufacturing. In older writing, it commonly refers to premises equipped for industrial production, especially textiles or other goods made in quantity, but it can apply to any manufacturing establishment. The word is chiefly encountered in historical documents, legislation, and descriptions of former industrial sites; in ordinary modern speech, factory is normally preferred. Its unusual form is etymologically revealing. It comes through Medieval Latin from manu, meaning “by hand,” and facere, meaning “to make,” so the name preserves the older idea of making by hand even when the process is mechanized. The term is therefore useful to readers confronting nineteenth-century trade literature or legal records, where manufactory identifies the physical place of production. In contemporary English, however, it sounds distinctly old-fashioned rather than technical, and substituting factory usually changes neither the meaning nor the style substantially.
nounAn establishment in which goods are manufactured; a factory.
- A factory or industrial establishment in which goods are manufactured.
"The guide led us through the substantial remains of a nineteenth-century woollen manufactory."
"The factory occupies the site of an old cotton manufactory that closed more than a century ago."
"The court treated the premises as a manufactory and appointed an inspector to oversee its operations."
The regular plural is manufactories, changing the final -y to -ies.
"Several former manufactories line the canal."
Manufactory preserves a telling clue in its Latin roots: it literally refers to a place where things are made by hand.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does manufactory come from?
The word comes from Medieval Latin manufactoria, meaning a workshop or place of manufacture and formed from Latin manu (“by hand”) and facere (“to make”). It entered English in the early modern period and developed a meaning essentially equivalent to “factory.” Its formation parallels manufacture, while manual, manuscript, and facsimile preserve the same Latin roots manus (“hand”) and facere (“make”).
Related word forms
How manufactory is actually used
Manufactory is now largely dated, though it remains familiar in historical, archival, and legal contexts. It may sound deliberately traditional in modern writing, whereas factory is the normal neutral term.
Easily confused with manufactory
A manufactory is a factory or manufacturing establishment, but the word is now largely dated where factory is the usual modern term.