Manipulation

Webster's Dictionary of the English Language

·noun The use of the hands in mesmeric operations.

II. Manipulation ·noun Artful management; as, the manipulation of political bodies; sometimes, a management or treatment for purposes of deception or fraud.

III. Manipulation ·noun The act or process of manipulating, or the state of being manipulated; the act of handling work by hand; use of the hands, in an artistic or skillful manner, in science or art.