manual

[ man-yoo-uh l ]

/ ˈmæn yu əl /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR manual ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

done, operated, worked, etc., by the hand or hands rather than by an electrical or electronic device: a manual gearshift.

involving or using human effort, skill, power, energy, etc.; physical: manual labor.

of or relating to the hand or hands: manual deformities.

of the nature of a manual or handbook: manual instructions.

noun

a small book, especially one giving information or instructions: a manual of mathematical tables.

a nonelectric or nonelectronic typewriter; a typewriter whose keys and carriage may be powered solely by the typist's hands.

Military. the prescribed drill in handling a rifle: the manual of arms.

Music. a keyboard, especially one of several belonging to a pipe organ.

Automotive. manual transmission.

Nearby words

Origin of manual

1375–1425; < Latin manuālis (adj.), manuāle (noun) (something) that can be held in the hand (manu(s) hand + -ālis, -āle -al¹, -al²); replacing late Middle English manuel < Middle French < Latin, as above

Related forms

man·u·al·ly, adverbnon·man·u·al, adjectivenon·man·u·al·ly, adverbun·man·u·al, adjective

un·man·u·al·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for manual

Police said they seized several recording devices, including two hidden-camera clocks and a manual for a hidden-camera fan.
Women Describe How Top D.C. Rabbi Allegedly Spied on Them in the Nude|Steven I. Weiss|October 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
One of the core principles of my system of productivity, Less Doing, is something I call “Creating the Manual of You.”
How To Create Your Own User Manual|Ari Meisel|February 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He still had the old Remington manual typewriter on which he punched out Run to Daylight!
The Night Vince Lombardi Lay Awake Brooding Over a 49-0 Win|W.C. Heinz|January 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In Life a User's Manual, Perec uses excess to slip the bounds of realism.
To Dream a Dream: Georges Perec’s Night Visions|Lauren Elkin|December 26, 2013|DAILY BEAST

Now and then, a postcard would arrive with a curt message, typed on a manual typewriter.
The Man with the President’s Ear, Arthur Schlesinger Jr. and JFK|Ted Widmer|October 27, 2013|DAILY BEAST
These all work every other day at manual labor or some useful trade.
Little Journeys To The Homes Of Great Teachers|Elbert Hubbard
For the first time in a generation human beings did manual labor such as unloading produce trucks.
Robots of the World! Arise!|Mari Wolf
The conventional type of manual training—one period per week in the sixth, seventh and eighth grades—was not holding the pupils.
The New Education|Scott Nearing
In a little while the whole army was under drill; for a great part, made up of raw militia, scarcely knew the manual exercise.
The Student's Life of Washington; Condensed from the Larger Work of Washington Irving|Washington Irving
She had supplied herself betimes with a manual of etiquette, which she had studied with the assiduity of a diligent school-girl.
The Golden Shoemaker|J. W. Keyworth

British Dictionary definitions for manual

manual

/ (ˈmænjʊəl) /

adjective

of or relating to a hand or hands

operated or done by handmanual controls

physical, as opposed to mental or mechanicalmanual labour

by human labour rather than automatic or computer-aided means

of, relating to, or resembling a manual

noun

a book, esp of instructions or informationa car manual

music one of the keyboards played by hand on an organ

military the prescribed drill with small arms

Derived Formsmanually, adverb

Word Origin for manual

C15: via Old French from Latin manuālis, from manus hand

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for manual

manual

adj.

c.1400, from Latin manualis "of or belonging to the hand; that can be thrown by hand," from manus "hand, strength, power over; armed force; handwriting," from PIE *man- (2) "hand" (cf. Old Norse mund "hand," Old English mund "hand, protection, guardian," German Vormund "guardian," Greek mane "hand").

manual

early 15c., "service book used by a priest," from Old French manuel "handbook" (also "plow-handle"), from Late Latin manuale "case or cover of a book, handbook," noun use of neuter of Latin manualis (see manual (adj.)). Meaning "a concise handbook" of any sort is from 1530s.

manual

adjective

noun

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of manual

Examples from the Web for manual

manual

adjective

noun

Word Origin for manual

manual

manual