handwriting

[hand-rahy-ting]

noun

1. writing done with a pen or pencil in the hand; script.

2. a style or manner of writing by hand, especially that which characterizes a particular person; penmanship.

   an eccentric handwriting.

3. a handwritten document; manuscript.

handwriting

/ ˈhændˌraɪtɪŋ /

noun

1. writing by hand rather than by typing or printing

2. a person's characteristic writing style

   that signature is in my handwriting

Word History and Origins

Origin of handwriting¹

1375–1425; late Middle English hand writyng; hand + writing

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. handwriting on the wall, a premonition, portent, or clear indication, especially of failure or disaster: Also writing on the wall.

   The company had ignored the handwriting on the wall and was plunged into bankruptcy.

Example Sentences

The court asked the government to include handwriting lessons in the medical school curriculum and set a two-year timeline for rolling out digitised prescriptions.

Read more on BBC

She said the administration would be open to a handwriting expert reviewing the signature on the letter.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Sitting in her living room, it is impossible to miss a white wall adorned in black handwriting.

Read more on BBC

“My dad’s handwriting was terrible. He looked like he should have been a doctor. You can hardly read anything he wrote. My mother had perfect penmanship,” she continued.

Read more on Salon

There was another troubling detail: Martinez had cashed a $109 check he said Baker had given him, but a handwriting expert determined that Baker’s signature was forged.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• calligraphy 
• longhand 
• manuscript 
• scrawl 
• script 
• writing