sign manual

noun, plural signs manual.

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

Origin of sign manual

late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50

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

Examples from the Web for sign manual

Historical Examples of sign manual

It was the scar of the white plague, the sign-manual of death.
The Captain of the Pole-Star and Other Tales
Arthur Conan Doyle
Many of them were at once appalled by the royal seals and sign-manual.
The Story of Rouen
Sir Theodore Andrea Cook
Wheresoever a capacity is bestowed, it is the sign-manual of Heaven.
The Young Maiden
A. B. (Artemas Bowers) Muzzey
I have not escaped,” I replied; “here is my pardon, with the sign-manual.
The Privateersman
Frederick Marryat
The sign-manual on the back of the magistrate's warrant is there to testify, &c.
The Origin of Finger-Printing
William J. Herschel

British Dictionary definitions for sign manual

sign manual

noun

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

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