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manualis

Etymology and origin of the Latin word manualis

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
Sisenna
Ultimate origin
Latin (manus)

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ma.nuˈaː.lɪs][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ma.nuˈaː.lis][1]

Forms

manuālis (neuter manuāle); third-declension two-termination adjective[1]

Etymology

It is from manus “hand” with the suffix -ālis.[2][1][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's earliest source is the historian Sisenna, whom he dates 120–67 BC.[5]

Semantic evolution

It meant held in the hand, of a size to fill the hand, a handful, as of stones to throw.[2][6][4]

In Medieval Latin it was used of tame animals and of servants for everyday tasks.[7] British Medieval Latin used it of offerings and money given by hand and of a handbook or small psalter, as in Alcuin's “handbook” of 802.[8] In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant manual.[9] English manual “done by hand” is recorded about 1400.[4]

Timeline

  • 120–67 BC – Sisenna uses it.[5]
  • 802 – Alcuin sends a manuālis libellus, a handbook.[8]
  • c. 1400 – English manual is recorded.[4]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Held in the hand; filling the hand, a handful.[2]
  2. (Medieval Latin) Of a book: small, hand-; given by hand.[8]
  3. (Medieval Latin) (of animals) Tame, (of persons) doing everyday service.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  8. ^ a b c Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
  9. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
Cite this entry

“Manualis.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/manualis. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·