See Also: MANUAL(law)
Manual(medicine)
manual(dictionary)
manual 2, noun(dictionary)
manual 1, adjective(dictionary)
Manual of Discipline(encyclopedia)
sign-manual(dictionary)
Employee Manual(money)
manual ventilation(medicine)
manual communication(medicine)

manual (iou)



manual adjective & noun. LME.
[Old & mod. French manuel from Latin manualis, from manus hand: see -AL1. Later assim. to Latin.]
A. adjective.
Of or pertaining to the hand or hands; done or performed with the hands, involving physical rather than mental effort; worked by hand, not by automatic equipment or with electronic etc. assistance. LME.
manual alphabet the finger alphabet. manual exercise Military exercise or drill in handling a rifle or musket.
E. B. Tylor I expressed my ideas by manual signs. M. Meyer Ibsen hated seeing his wife doing anything manual such as knitting. Farm Machinery A manual over-ride to allow the driver to guide the machine into the crop.
b. Of a signature etc.: autograph. Chiefly in SIGN-MANUAL. LME.
Law. Of occupation, possession: actual, in one's own hands, not merely prospective. M16.
That works with the hands; engaged in labour involving physical rather than mental effort. M17.
G. Greene Do you believe..that a manual labourer should be paid less than a man who works with his brains?
b. noun.
A small book for handy use; a concise treatise, an abridgement, a handbook, a textbook; a book of instructions for operating a machine, learning a subject, etc.; Ecclesiastical History a book containing the forms to be observed by priests in the administration of the sacraments etc. LME.
B. Trapido Roger had duly acquired us an antiquated sex manual. P. Rose A great number of domestic manuals about women's place appeared in the 1830s. Practical Motorist The manual is very comprehensive and is in three volumes.
ellipt. Anything distinguished by manual operation, as (a vehicle with) a manual gearbox, a manual typewriter, etc. L17.
Military. = manual exercise above. M18.
An organ keyboard played with the hands, as opp. to one operated by the feet. M19.
manualism noun (rare) the action or process of teaching by means of the manual alphabet L19.
manualist noun (a) a person who works or labours with the hands; (b) a user or advocate of the manual alphabet: L16.
manually adverb L15.