manner

Etymology

From Middle English maner, manere, from Anglo-Norman manere, from Old French maniere, from Vulgar Latin *manāria, from feminine of Latin manuarius (“belonging to the hand”), from manus (“hand”). Compare French manière, Italian mannaia (“ax, axe”), Portuguese maneira and maneiro (“handy, portable”), Romanian mâner (“handle”), and Spanish manera.

noun

1. Mode of action; way of performing or doing anything
2. Characteristic mode of acting or behaving; bearing
   His natural manner makes him seem like the boss.
   During the whole time of his abode in the university he generally spent thirteen hours of the day in study; by which assiduity besides an exact dispatch of the whole course of philosophy, he read over in a manner all classic authors that are extant[…] 1661, John Fell, The Life of the most learned, reverend and pious Dr. H. Hammond
   [S]he [Edwina, mother of Tennessee Williams] was indeed Amanda [Wingfield, character in Williams' play The Glass Menagerie] in the flesh: a doughty chatterbox from Ohio who adopted the manner of a Southern belle and eschewed both drink and sex to the greatest extent possible. 14 November 2014, Blake Bailey, “'Tennessee Williams,' by John Lahr [print version: Theatrical victory of art over life, International New York Times, 18 November 2014, p. 13]”, in The New York Times
3. One's customary method of acting; habit.
   These people have strange manners.
4. Good, polite behaviour.
   But Sophia's mother was not the woman to brook defiance. After a few moments' vain remonstrance her husband complied. His manner and appearance were suggestive of a satiated sea-lion. 1922, Ben Travers, chapter 6, in A Cuckoo in the Nest
5. The style of writing or thought of an author; the characteristic peculiarity of an artist.
6. A certain degree or measure.
   It is in a manner done already.
7. Sort; kind; style.
   All manner of persons participate.
8. Standards of conduct cultured and product of mind.