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sign manual

noun, plural signs manual.
  1. a personal signature, especially that of a sovereign or official on a public document.
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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. 2018

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.

British Dictionary definitions for sign manual

sign manual

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