Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “manual” come from?

Manual comes from Middle English manuel, from Old French manuel, from Latin manualis meaning "of or pertaining to the hand," derived from Latin manus meaning "hand."

manual (English): A handbook; A booklet that instructs on the usage...

Definitions

  1. A handbook; A booklet that instructs on the usage...

Ancestry of “manual”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishmanuel—
2Anglo-Normanmanuelmanual; done with the hands; handle; manual;...
3Old Frenchmanual—
4Latinmanuālis—
5Latinmanushand; bravery, valor; violence, fighting
6Proto-Italicmanushand
7Proto-Indo-Europeanman-human being; man; hand

Words derived from “manual”

  • manually
  • bimanual
  • nonmanual
  • manualist
  • bimanually
  • unimanual
  • manualism
  • nonmanually
  • manualize
  • semimanual
  • unimanually
  • sinistromanual
  • manualise
  • mandraulic
  • dextromanual
  • manualette
  • brachiomanual
Every word from Proto-Indo-European man- →