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

And, before he ran away to the House presently, he gave Lady Mabel's hand a tender little pressure which she accepted in all good faith as a sign manual of the compact between them.

From Vixen, Volume III. by Braddon, M. E. (Mary Elizabeth)

It was a sign manual used in the secret society to which both of them belonged in the Academy at Centerville.

From The Outdoor Chums on the Lake Lively Adventures on Wildcat Island by Allen, Quincy

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

My dear Brooks, I have appended my sign manual to the memorial, which I think is very discreetly drawn up.

From The Letters of Charles Dickens Vol. 2, 1857-1870 by Dickens, Mamie

The civilized trick of procuring the mystic sign manual known as signature had fastened on them the gyves of perpetual poverty.

From Trail Tales by Gillilan, James David