A manifesto is a written declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of the issuer, be it an individual, group, political party, or government. A manifesto can accept a previously published opinion or public consensus, but many prominent manifestosâÂÂsuch as those of various artistic movementsâÂÂreject accepted knowledge in favor of a new idea. Manifestos relating to religious belief are generally referred to as creeds or confessions of faith.
The Italian word , itself derived from the Latin , meaning "clear" or "conspicuous". Its first recorded use in English is from 1620, in Nathaniel Brent's translation of the Italian from Paolo Sarpi's History of the Council of Trent: "To this citation he made answer by a Manifesto" (p. 102). Similarly, "They were so farre surprised with his Manifesto, that they would never suffer it to be published" (p. 103).