means The act of cleverly handling people, situations, or objects to steer them toward a result you want — sometimes innocently skillful, often quietly underhanded.

from From Latin 'manipulus,' a handful — literally 'a hand-full,' from 'manus' (hand) plus a root tied to 'plere' (to fill). It first described physical handling, the way pharmacists and craftsmen worked things by hand; only later did it slide into the figurative sense of working people the way one works clay. The same 'manus' gives us 'manual,' 'manufacture,' and 'manage' — a whole family of words about getting things done with the hands, before this one learned to do it behind your back.