Black's Law Dictionary (2nd edition)dictionaries

Mancipium

Lat in Roman law. The momentary condition in which a fllius, etc., might be when in course of emancipatlon from the potestas, and before that emanclpa-tlon was absolutely complete. The condltlou was not like the dominica potestas over slaves, but slaves are frequently called “man-cipia” in the non-legal Roman authors. Brown

Source: Black’s Law Dictionary 2nd Ed (1910)