manuscript

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A book, composition or any other document, written by hand (or manually typewritten), not mechanically reproduced.

   In the old days, to my commonplace and unobserving mind, he gave no evidences of genius whatsoever. He never read me any of his manuscripts, […], and therefore my lack of detection of his promise may in some degree be pardoned.

2. 2
   noun

   the form of a literary work submitted for publication

3. 3
   noun

   handwritten book or document

4. 4
   adj

   Handwritten, or by extension manually typewritten, as opposed to being mechanically reproduced.

5. 5
   noun

   A single, original copy of a book, article, composition etc, written by hand or even printed, submitted as original for (copy-editing and) reproductive publication.

Etymology

From Medieval Latin manūscrīptum (“writing by hand”), a calque of Germanic origin: compare Middle Low German hantschrift (“manuscript, document”), Middle Dutch hantscrift (“manuscript”) (c. 1451), Old High German hantgiskrīb (“handwriting, document, manuscript”), Middle High German hantschrift, hantgeschrift (“manuscript”) (c. 1450), Old English handġewrit (“what is written by hand, deed, contract, manuscript”) (before 1150), Old Norse handrit (“manuscript”) (before 1300). Not found in Classical Latin.