"manual (done by hand)" in seven languages

Meaningmanual (done by hand)

Spanish

manual

/maˈnwal/

learned

Also the noun 'handbook': un manual.

French

manuel

/manɥɛl/

learned

fem.: manuelle

Italian

manuale

/maˈnwale/

learned

Portuguese

manual

/manuˈaw/

learned

Romanian

manual

/manuˈal/

learned

Catalan

manual

/mənuˈal/

learned

English

manual

/ˈmænjuəl/

from Latin/French · Old French manuel, from Latin MANUĀLEM

English → Italianmanual (done by hand)manualeCognateSame source — inherited, learned or borrowed. You can recognize it.What English and Italian share

The Latin ancestor

MANUĀLEM‘of the hand (MANUS)’

All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.

The story

From MANUS 'hand', whose inherited heirs are mano, main, mano. All four also use the word as a noun for a handbook.

English relatives: manufacture, manuscript, manicure

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In a sentence

esEs un trabajo manual.
frC'est un travail manuel.
itÈ un lavoro manuale.
ptÉ um trabalho manual.
roEste o muncă manuală.
caÉs una feina manual.
enIt's a manual job.

The Latin family

MANU-· hand

MANUS was a feminine noun with an odd ending, and the sisters kept the gender against the look of the word: la mano in Spanish and Italian, la main in French. The hand also reached into 'holding' (maintain), 'sleeves' (manga) and 'way of doing' (manner). Portuguese a mão, Romanian mâna and Catalan la mà are feminine too.

MANUMhand
esmanofrmainitmanoptmãoromânăcamà
MANUĀLEMof the hand
esmanualfrmanuelitmanualeptmanualromanualcamanualenmanual
MANICAMsleeve
esmangafrmancheitmanicaptmangaromânecăcamàniga
MANŪ TENĒREto hold in the hand
esmantenerfrmainteniritmantenereptmanterromenținecamantenirenmaintain
*MANUĀRIAhandy; way of handling
esmanerafrmanièreitmanieraptmaneiraromanierăcamaneraenmanner

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