Etymologically
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manuale

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Forms

manuāle n (genitive manuālis); third declension[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin manuālis (“of the hand, held in the hand”), its neuter used as a noun.[1][2][3] De Vaan lists the adjective among the derivatives of manus (“hand”), which goes back to Proto-Italic *man-u- and Proto-Indo-European *mon-u- (“hand”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Martial uses it as the heading of an epigram in his fourteenth book, for a wooden case in which a book was kept.[1][2][5] Köbler dates Martial 40–102/103 AD.[3]

Semantic evolution

In the plural it meant handbooks: the jurist Paulus wrote a work called Manualia.[1] In Late Latin it was also a hand towel or cloth: the TLL and Du Cange cite the Acts of Cyprian, where linen cloths and manualia are sent ahead of him, and the Passion of Maximinus, where it is a cloth to bind the martyr's eyes.[6][7] The glossaries render it with Greek ἐγχειρίδιον “handbook” and ἀναλόγιον “lectern”, and explain it as a book easy to carry, which is called an enchiridion.[8][7]

In Medieval Latin it was a handbook, especially the book with the liturgical texts a priest used every day, a towel, a maniple and even a head of cattle.[9] Du Cange adds a portable lectern, a girdle in a papal inventory, a notary's first draft and an account book.[7] New Latin used it for the manual (keyboard) of an organ.[10] English took it, through Old French manuel, as manual, first a small service book for priests.[11]

Timeline

  • 40–102/103 AD – Martial heads an epigram with it, for a wooden case for a book.[1][3]
  • first half of the 3rd century AD – The jurist Paulus writes books of Manualia (“handbooks”).[1][3]
  • first half of the 9th century – Agobard, in a letter to Ebbo of Reims, uses it of a handbook to be carried about.[7][3]
  • 1295 – An inventory of the papal treasury lists a red manuale, apparently a girdle.[7]
  • 1383 – A French royal ordinance uses it of the account books of the receivers.[7]
  • early 15th century – English borrows it, through Old French, as manual, a small service book.[11]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A wooden case for a book.[1][2]
  2. (plural) Handbooks; the title of a work by the jurist Paulus.[1]
  3. (Late Latin) A hand towel, a cloth.[6][7][9]
  4. (Late Latin, Medieval Latin) A handbook, a book small enough to carry, an enchiridion.[2][7][9]
  5. (Medieval Latin) A book of the liturgical texts for a priest's daily use.[9][3]
  6. (Medieval Latin) A maniple.[9][7]
  7. (Medieval Latin) A portable lectern.[7][8]
  8. (Medieval Latin) A head of cattle.[9]
  9. (Medieval Latin) A notary's first draft; a daily account book.[7]
  10. (New Latin) The manual (keyboard) of an organ.[10]

Usage notes

The TLL hesitates over an inscription (CIL VIII 6982) listing manualia among temple furnishings: Mommsen took them to be towels, while the TLL wonders whether, since bronze objects are listed, they are rather basins.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  2. ^ a b c d Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  4. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  5. ^ Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  6. ^ a b c Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre
  8. ^ a b Goetz, Georg (1888–1923), Corpus glossariorum Latinorum, Leipzig: Teubner; vols. VI–VII Thesaurus glossarum emendatarum, digital ed. CGLO, Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  9. ^ a b c d e f Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  10. ^ a b Ramminger, Johann, Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700, www.neulatein.de
  11. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com