manure

Etymology

From Middle English maynouren, manuren (“to supervise, toil”), borrowed from Anglo-Norman meinourer and Old French manovrer (whence also English maneuver), from Vulgar Latin *manuoperare (“work by hand”), from Latin manū (“by hand”) + operārī (“to work”).

verb

1. To cultivate by manual labor; to till; hence, to develop by culture.
   Manure thyself then; to thyself be approved; / And with vain, outward things be no more moved. 1633, John Donne, Epistle to Mr. Rowland Woodward
2. To apply manure (as fertilizer or soil improver).
   The farmer manured his fallow field.

noun

1. Animal excrement, especially that of common domestic farm animals and when used as fertilizer. Generally speaking, from cows, horses, sheep, pigs and chickens.
   1985, Biff Tannen (portrayed by Thomas F. Wilson), Back to the Future. I hate manure!
   1988, Dave Mustaine, "Hook in Mouth", Megadeth, So Far, So Good... So What!. M, they will cover your grave with manure
   [T]he very wet winter will have washed much of the goodness out of the soil. Homemade compost and the load of manure we get from a friendly farmer may not be enough to compensate for what has leached from the ground. 21 April 2014, Mary Keen, “You can still teach an old gardener new tricks: Even the hardiest of us gardeners occasionally learn useful new techniques [print version: Gardening is always ready to teach even the hardiest of us a few new tricks, 19 April 2014]”, in The Daily Telegraph (Gardening), page G7
2. Any fertilizing substance, whether of animal origin or not; fertiliser.
   Malt dust consists chiefly of the infant radicle separated from the grain. I have never made any experiment upon this manure; but there is great reason to suppose it must contain saccharine matter; and this will account for its powerful effects. a. 1813, Sir Humphry Davy, "Lecture VI" in Elements of Agricultural Chemistry (1840 reprint)
3. (euphemistic) Rubbish; nonsense; bullshit.
   “You know the police think I killed Marge, don't you?” “What a load of manure! I couldn't believe it when I read the paper.” 2005, Ginny Aiken, Design on a Crime, page 217