manual

See also: Manual and manuál

English

Alternative forms

• manuall (obsolete)

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈmæn.j(ʊ)əl/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈmæn.jə(.wə)l/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

• Rhymes: (UK) -ænjəl
• Homophone: Manuel (Anglicized pronunciation)
• Hyphenation: man‧u‧al, man‧ual

Etymology 1

From Middle English manuel, from Old French manuel, from Late Latin manuāle (“handbook, manual”).

Noun

manual (plural manuals)

1. A handbook.
2. A booklet that instructs on the usage of a particular machine or product.

   The dishwasher isn't working; can you remember where we put the manual?

3. (military) A drill in the use of weapons, etc.
4. (Christianity, historical) An old office-book like the modern Roman Catholic ritual.

Synonyms

• enchiridion
• handbook

Derived terms

• instruction manual
• owners manual
• reference manual
• user manual
• user's manual

 

Descendants

• → Japanese: マニュアル (manyuaru)

Translations

handbook or booklet that instructs

• Arabic: كُتَيِّب‎ m (kutayyib), كُتَيِّب اَلتَّشْغِيل‎ m (kutayyib at-tašḡīl)
• Armenian: ձեռնարկ (hy) (jeṙnark), ուղեցույց (hy) (ułecʿuycʿ)
• Belarusian: даве́днік m (davjédnik)
• Bulgarian: ръководство (bg) n (rǎkovodstvo), справочник (bg) m (spravočnik)
• Catalan: manual (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 手冊／手册 (zh) (shǒucè)

• Czech: příručka (cs) f, manuál (cs) m
• Danish: manual c
• Dutch: gebruiksaanwijzing (nl), handleiding (nl) f, handboek (nl) n
• Esperanto: manlibro, instrukcilibro
• Estonian: käsiraamat
• Finnish: käsikirja (fi), ohjekirja, manuaali (fi)
• French: manuel (fr) m
• Galician: manual (gl) m
• German: Handbuch (de) n
• Greek: εγχειρίδιο (el) n (encheirídio)

  Ancient: ἐγχειρίδιον n (enkheirídion)

• Hungarian: kézikönyv (hu), kalauz (hu)
• Ido: lernolibro (io), manulibro (io)
• Indonesian: panduan (id)
• Italian: manuale (it) m, guida (it), libretto delle istruzioni
• Japanese: 手引き (ja) (てびき, tebiki), 説明書 (せつめいしょ, setsumeisho), マニュアル (ja) (manyuaru)
• Korean: 안내서 (ko) (annaeseo), 매뉴얼 (maenyueol)
• Macedonian: при́рачник m (príračnik), у́патство n (úpatstvo)
• Maori: pukatohu
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: håndbok m or f, manual (no) m

  Nynorsk: handbok f, manual m

• Old English: handbōc f
• Polish: podręcznik (pl) m, instrukcja (pl) f
• Portuguese: manual (pt) m
• Romanian: manual (ro) n
• Russian: инстру́кция (ru) f (instrúkcija), руково́дство (ru) n (rukovódstvo)
• Scottish Gaelic: leabhar-làimhe m
• Serbo-Croatian: príručnīk (sh) m, uputstvo (sh) n
• Spanish: manual (es) m, enquiridión m, prontuario (es) m, instructivo (es) m
• Swedish: bruksanvisning (sv) c, elementarbok (sv) c, manual (sv) c, handbok (sv) c
• Tagalog: hawaklat
• Ukrainian: інстру́кція f (instrúkcija)
• Welsh: cyfarwyddiadur m
• Yiddish: האַנטביכל‎ n (hantbikhl)

a booklet that instructs on the usage of a particular machine or product

• Hungarian: útmutató (hu), használati utasítás (hu)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Serbo-Croatian: ^{(please verify)} priručnik (sh) (1)

Etymology 2

From Middle English manuel, from Anglo-Norman manuel, Old French manual, from Latin manuālis, from manus (“hand”).

Adjective

manual (comparative more manual, superlative most manual)

1. (of an activity) Performed with the hands.
   • 1897 October 16, Henry James, What Maisie Knew, Chicago, Ill.; New York, N.Y.: Herbert S. Stone & Co., OCLC 318438930:

     She gave a wild manual brush to her locks.

2. (of a machine, device etc.) Operated by means of the hands.
3. Performed by a human rather than a machine.

   The teacher urged the students to do a manual check, because some errors aren't picked up by the spell checker.

Synonyms

• handly

Antonyms

• automatic

Coordinate terms

• aural, relating to the ear or the sense of hearing
• oral, relating to the mouth
• pedal, relating to the foot

Derived terms

• brachiomanual
• manual labor, manual labour
• manual reversion
• manual transmission
• manual work
• manually
• manumatic

 

Related terms

Related terms

• amanuensis
• manufacture
• manumit
• manus
• manuscript

Translations

performed with the hands

• Arabic: يَدَوِيّ‎ (yadawiyy)
• Armenian: ձեռքի (jeṙkʿi), ձեռային (jeṙayin) (Western Armenian)
• Belarusian: ручны́ (ručný)
• Bulgarian: ръ́чен (rǎ́čen)
• Catalan: manual (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 手工的 (zh) (shǒugōng de), 手動的／手动的 (zh) (shǒudòng de)

• Czech: ruční (cs), manuální (cs)
• Dutch: handmatig (nl), met de hand, manueel (nl)
• Finnish: käsikäyttöinen (fi), käsivarainen, manuaalinen (fi), käsi-
• French: manuel (fr)
• Galician: manual (gl)
• German: manuell (de)
• Greek: χειροκίνητος (el) (cheirokínitos)
• Hungarian: kézi (hu)
• Ido: manuala (io)
• Italian: manuale (it)
• Japanese: 手動 (ja) (しゅどう, shudō)
• Macedonian: рачен (račen)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: manuell

  Nynorsk: manuell

• Polish: ręczny (pl)
• Portuguese: manual (pt)
• Romanian: manual (ro)
• Russian: ручно́й (ru) (ručnój)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: ру̏чнӣ

  Roman: rȕčnī (sh)

• Slovak: ručný, manuálny
• Slovene: ročen
• Spanish: manual (es)
• Swedish: manuell (sv)
• Tagalog: pangkamay, kinakamay
• Ukrainian: ручни́й (ručnýj)

Noun

manual (countable and uncountable, plural manuals)

1. (countable) A device that is operated using the hands, or by a human rather than a machine.
   1. (automotive) A manual transmission; a gearbox, especially of a motorized vehicle, shifted by the operator.
   2. (by synecdoche) A vehicle with a manual transmission.

      I'm not used to automatics; I've always driven manuals.

   3. (music) A keyboard for the hands on a harpsichord, organ, or other musical instrument.
   4. A manual typewriter (as contrasted with an electronic one).
2. (countable) A procedure or operation that is done using the hands, or by a human rather than machine.
   1. (medicine, colloquial) Manual measurement of the blood pressure, done with a manual sphygmomanometer.

      do a manual

      give someone a quick manual

   2. A bicycle technique whereby the front wheel is held aloft by the rider, without the use of pedal force.
   3. A similar maneuver on a skateboard, lifting the front or back wheels while keeping the tail or nose of the board from touching the ground.
      • 2007, Friedrich von Borries, Steffen P. Walz, Matthias Böttger, Space Time Play: Computer Games, Architecture and Urbanism (page 124)

        In short tutorials, the player learns the basics of skating: reverts, manuals and the ollie […]

3. (uncountable) Manual control or operation.

   Put the controls to manual.

   Leave the system on manual.

Synonyms

• (automotive): stick shift / stick
• (automotive): standard transmission / standard

Translations

manual transmission

• Czech: manuál (cs) m
• Dutch: handbak (nl) m
• Finnish: manuaalinen vaihteisto, manuaalivaihteisto (fi), käsivaihteisto (fi)
• Galician: manual (gl)
• German: Schaltgetriebe
• Greek: χειροκίνητος (el) m (cheirokínitos)
• Japanese: マニュアル (ja) (manyuaru)
• Macedonian: рачен менувач m (račen menuvač)
• Romanian: cutie de viteze f
• Spanish: manual (es) m
• Swedish: växelspak (sv) c

vehicle with manual transmission

• Finnish: käsivaihteinen (adjective)

musical keyboard

• Dutch: manuaal (nl) n
• Finnish: koskettimisto (fi), sormio (fi), manuaali (fi)
• German: Manual (de) n
• Greek: πληκτρολόγιο (el) n (pliktrológio)
• Hungarian: billentyűzet (hu)
• Irish: méarchlár (ga) m
• Macedonian: клавијату́ра f (klavijatúra), мануа́л m (manuál)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: manual (no) m

  Nynorsk: manual m

• Polish: manuał (pl) m
• Russian: клавиату́ра (ru) f (klaviatúra)
• Swedish: klaviatur (sv) c, manual (sv) c

See also

(automotive):

• automatic
• semi-automatic
• manumatic

Further reading

• Manual on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Manual in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)

Anagrams

• Lauman, alumna

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin manuālis.

Pronunciation

• (Balearic, Central) IPA^(key): /mə.nuˈal/
• (Valencian) IPA^(key): /ma.nuˈal/

Adjective

manual (masculine and feminine plural manuals)

1. manual

Derived terms

• manualment

Noun

manual m (plural manuals)

1. manual

Further reading

• “manual” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “manual”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2023
• “manual” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “manual” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Danish

Noun

manual c (singular definite manualen, plural indefinite manualer)

1. manual, a booklet that instructs on the usage of a particular machine

Inflection

Declension of manual

common gender	Singular		Plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	manual	manualen	manualer	manualerne
genitive	manuals	manualens	manualers	manualernes

Indonesian

Etymology

From English manual, from Anglo-Norman manuel, from Old French manual, from Latin manuālis, from manus (“hand”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [maˈnu.al]
• Hyphenation: ma‧nu‧al

Noun

manual (first-person possessive manualku, second-person possessive manualmu, third-person possessive manualnya)

1. (colloquial) manual, handbook.

Adjective

manual

1. manual,
   1. performed with the hands.
   2. performed by a human rather than a machine.

Further reading

• “manual” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Language Development and Fostering Agency — Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic Indonesia, 2016.

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin manualis, or English manual (“handbook”).

Noun

manual m (definite singular manualen, indefinite plural manualer, definite plural manualene)

1. a manual (handbook)
2. (music) manual (organ keyboard)
3. (weightlifting, fitness) a dumbbell

References

• “manual” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin manualis, or English manual (“handbook”).

Noun

manual m (definite singular manualen, indefinite plural manualar, definite plural manualane)

1. a manual (handbook)
2. (music) manual (organ keyboard)
3. (weightlifting, fitness) a dumbbell

References

• “manual” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Portuguese

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin manuālis.

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ma.nuˈaw/ [ma.nʊˈaʊ̯], (faster pronunciation) /maˈnwaw/ [maˈnwaʊ̯], /mɐ̃.nuˈaw/ [mɐ̃.nʊˈaʊ̯], (faster pronunciation) /mɐ̃ˈnwaw/ [mɐ̃ˈnwaʊ̯]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /mɐˈnwal/ [mɐˈnwaɫ]

• Rhymes: -al, -aw
• Hyphenation: ma‧nu‧al

Adjective

manual m or f (plural manuais)

1. manual

Derived terms

• manualmente

Noun

manual m (plural manuais)

1. manual

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French manuel, Latin manualis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ma.nuˈal/

Adjective

manual m or n (feminine singular manuală, masculine plural manuali, feminine and neuter plural manuale)

1. manual

Declension

Declension of manual

		singular			plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine	masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative/ accusative	indefinite	manual		manuală	manuali	manuale
	definite	manualul		manuala	manualii	manualele
genitive/ dative	indefinite	manual		manuale	manuali	manuale
	definite	manualului		manualei	manualilor	manualelor

Noun

manual n (plural manuale)

1. handbook

Declension

Declension of manual

	singular		plural
	indefinite articulation	definite articulation	indefinite articulation	definite articulation
nominative/accusative	(un) manual	manualul	(niște) manuale	manualele
genitive/dative	(unui) manual	manualului	(unor) manuale	manualelor
vocative	manualule		manualelor

See also

• carte

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin manuālis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /maˈnwal/ [maˈnwal]
• Rhymes: -al
• Syllabification: ma‧nual

Adjective

manual (plural manuales)

1. manual (performed by the hands)
2. manual (operated by the hands)
3. manual (performed by a human)

   Antonym: automático

Derived terms

• de manual
• manualidad
• manualmente

Noun

manual m (plural manuales)

1. manual (handbook)
2. manual (booklet with instructions)

Further reading

• “manual”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014

Swedish

Noun

manual c

1. a manual, a handbook
2. (music) a manual, a keyboard

Declension

Declension of manual
	Singular		Plural
	Indefinite	Definite	Indefinite	Definite
Nominative	manual	manualen	manualer	manualerna
Genitive	manuals	manualens	manualers	manualernas

See also

• manuell
• pedal