manual

[man-yoo-uh l]

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.

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 formsman·u·al·ly, adverbnon·man·u·al, adjectivenon·man·u·al·ly, adverbun·man·u·al, adjectiveun·man·u·al·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for manual

text, textbook, handbook, guidebook, guide, workbook, cookbook, human, standard, primer, compendium, bible, schoolbook, enchiridion, physical

Examples from the Web for manual

Contemporary Examples of 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
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
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
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
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

Historical Examples of manual

Well-educated gentlemen are not ashamed of manual labour in France.
In the Heart of Vosges
Matilda Betham-Edwards
The windlasses that lift the bridge are actuated by manual power.
Scientific American Supplement, No. 497, July 11, 1885
Various
Thus he was more inclined for manual toil like that of Thomas.
The Three Cities Trilogy, Complete
Emile Zola
For instance, they rendered it impossible for him to do any manual work.
Father Sergius
Leo Tolstoy
They had the manual arts and crafts of the industrial North.
With Manchesters in the East
Gerald B. Hurst

British Dictionary definitions for manual

manual

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

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").

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.