sign manual

American  

noun

signs manual plural

1. a personal signature, especially that of a sovereign or official on a public document.

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sign manual British  

noun

1. law a person's signature in his own hand, esp that of a sovereign on an official document

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• signs manual
  plural

Etymology

Origin of sign manual

late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sign manual

There were in Ireland under the jurisdiction of the Lord Chancellor, committed to him by the Queen's sign manual, 229.

From Chapters in the History of the Insane in the British Isles by Tuke, Daniel Hack

But another form of sign manual also arose out of the subscription.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 8, Slice 5 "Dinard" to "Dodsworth" by Various

But the terms of the letter missive were so vague that, though it bore the sign manual, Casaubon hesitated to act upon it.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 4 "Carnegie Andrew" to "Casus Belli" by Various

Dalis had known the secret sign manual of these two; but would the intelligence of the cubes comprehend it?

From Astounding Stories of Super-Science, August 1930 by Bates, Harry

Sarka now was glad that Dalis knew the secret sign manual, and his fingers worked swiftly as he spoke to the rebel.

From Astounding Stories of Super-Science July 1930 by Bates, Harry