sign manual
English
editEtymology
editFrom sign + manual, probably after Middle French signe manuel.
Pronunciation
editNoun
editsign manual (plural signs manual)
- An authentic signature; (especially), the signature of a sovereign, used to validate a formal document. [from 15th c.]
- 1789, Edward Gibbon, Memoirs of My Life, Penguin, published 1990, page 124:
- We were undeceived by the King's sign manual for our embodying, which was issued May 10th 1760.