manual alphabet

noun

1. a set of finger configurations corresponding to the letters of the alphabet, used by the Deaf in fingerspelling.

Word History and Origins

Origin of manual alphabet¹

First recorded in 1860–65

Example Sentences

Rather than getting angry at us, hearing people can type text on their phones, try a speech-to-text transcription app or learn the ASL manual alphabet for basic exchanges, use gestures, or employ pen and paper.

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The manual alphabet was then published as an an illustration in popular author Daniel Defoe's book about a deaf man, The History of the Life and Adventures of Mr Duncan Campbell, from 1720.

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The manual alphabet, or fingerspelling, is thought by some to have been invented by monks in the 8th Century who had taken a vow of silence and needed another way of communicating.

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When Anna knew how to read and understand about forty substantives, I taught her the manual alphabet, and from that moment I could test her knowledge with unfailing exactitude.

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Amman says that Van Helmont had discovered a manual alphabet and used it to instruct the deaf, but had not attained very good results.

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Related Words

• finger alphabet www.thesaurus.com
• fingerspelling