enchiridion
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of enchiridion
1535–45; < Late Latin < Greek encheirídion handbook, equivalent to en- en- 2 + cheír hand + -idion diminutive suffix
Explanation
In ancient Greece, an enchiridion was a small, portable book that gave information about one specific topic. A new car usually comes with its own enchiridion. Enchiridion is derived from the Greek enkheiridios, "that which is held in the hand," from kheir, "hand." Imagine a small handbook or manual that would fit in a tote bag or large pocket — that's an enchiridion. The first of these were written by ancient Greeks on topics including ethics, law, and the writing of poetry. But if you want to impress, you can describe the manual that comes with a new blender or television as an enchiridion.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
