Meanings
plural handbooks
- A topically organized book of reference on a certain field of knowledge, regardless of size, but archetypally one to be kept readily at hand.
Synonyms: manual, enchiridion
- USgamblingA place where illicit bets can be placed.
The extent of the business done in this line is not understood by those who have not looked into it. In New York there are 50 pool rooms and 500 handbooks; in East St. Louis, 20 handbooks; in Chicago, 5 pool rooms and 200 handbooks; […]
1916, U.S. Congress. Senate. Committee on interstate commerce, Prevention of Transmission of Race-gambling Bets, page 231 more example
Persons subject to his rule can be found operating, in addition to the wire service, wire service relays, handbooks, gambling houses, prostitution establishments, coin-operated device companies, bars, restaurants, night clubs, motels, […]
1961, United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Government Operations. Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, Gambling and Organized Crime: Hearings
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA topically organized book of reference on a certain field of knowledge, regardless of size, but archetypally one to be kept readily at hand.
More synonyms by meaning
nouna concise reference book providing specific information about a subject or location
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- GermanHandbuch“handbook”
- Old Englishhandbōc“handbook”
- Middle Englishhandbok
- Englishhandbook
From Middle English handbok, from Old English handbōc (“handbook”), possibly reinforced as a calque of German Handbuch (“handbook”). By surface analysis, hand + book. Compare West Frisian hânboek (“handbook”), Dutch handboek (“handbook”), German Low German Handbook (“handbook”), Danish håndbog (“handbook”), Swedish handbok (“handbook”), Icelandic handbók (“handbook”).
More words from Middle English, Old English, German
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek ἐγχειρίδιον
- ἐγχειρίδιον (enkheirídion)a book of reference
Arabic دَلِيل, كُتَيِّب
- دَلِيل (dalīl)a book of reference
- كُتَيِّب (kutayyib)a book of reference
Basque eskuliburu, gidaliburu
- eskuliburua book of reference
- gidaliburua book of reference
Bulgarian справо́чник, наръ́чник
- справо́чник (spravóčnik)a book of reference
- наръ́чник (narắčnik)a book of reference
Chinese Mandarin 手冊 /手册, 便覽 /便览
- 手冊 /手册 (shǒucè)a book of reference
- 便覽 /便览 (biànlǎn)a book of reference
Czech příručka
- příručkaa book of reference
Danish håndbog
- håndboga book of reference
Dutch handboek
- handboeka book of reference
Esperanto manlibro
- manlibroa book of reference
Estonian käsiraamat
- käsiraamata book of reference
Finnish käsikirja
- käsikirjaa book of reference
French manuel
- manuela book of reference
German Handbuch
- Handbucha book of reference
Greek εγχειρίδιο
- εγχειρίδιο (encheirídio)a book of reference
Hebrew סֵפֶר עֵזֶר, סֵפֶר כִּיס
- סֵפֶר עֵזֶר (séfer 'ézer)a book of reference
- סֵפֶר כִּיס (séfer kís)a book of reference
- ספר שימוש \ סֵפֶר שִׁמּוּשׁ (séfer shimúsh)a book of reference
Hindi लघु ग्रंथ
- लघु ग्रंथ (laghu granth)a book of reference
Hungarian kézikönyv, segédkönyv
- kézikönyva book of reference
- segédkönyva book of reference
- tankönyva book of reference
Icelandic handbók
- handbóka book of reference
Indonesian buku pegangan
- buku pegangana book of reference
Italian manuale, guida
- manualea book of reference
- guidaa book of reference
Japanese 便覧, ハンドブック
- 便覧 (binran)a book of reference
- ハンドブック (handobukku)a book of reference
- 手帳 (techō)a book of reference
- 手帖 (techō)a book of reference
- 案内書 (annaisho)a book of reference
Korean 편람, 안내서
- 편람 (pyeollam)a book of reference
- 안내서 (annaeseo)a book of reference
- 핸드북 (haendeubuk)a book of reference
Latvian rokasgrāmata
- rokasgrāmataa book of reference
Lithuanian vadovėlis
- vadovėlisa book of reference
Malay buku panduan
- buku panduana book of reference
Māori pukapuka aratohu
- pukapuka aratohua book of reference
Norwegian Bokmål håndbok
- håndboka book of reference
Polish podręcznik
- podręcznika book of reference
Portuguese manual
- manuala book of reference
Romanian manual
- manuala book of reference
Russian спра́вочник, посо́бие
- спра́вочник (správočnik)a book of reference
- посо́бие (posóbije)a book of reference
Scottish Gaelic leabhar-làimhe
- leabhar-làimhea book of reference
Slovak príručka
- príručkaa book of reference
Spanish prontuario, enquiridión
- prontuarioa book of reference
- enquiridióna book of reference
- manuala book of reference
Swedish handbok
- handboka book of reference
Tagalog dalaklat
- dalaklata book of reference
Thai คู่มือ
- คู่มือ (kûu-mʉʉ)a book of reference
Ukrainian довідни́к, посі́бник
- довідни́к (dovidnýk)a book of reference
- посі́бник (posíbnyk)a book of reference
Vietnamese sổ tay
- sổ taya book of reference
Welsh llawlyfr
- llawlyfra book of reference
Yiddish האַנטבוך, האַנטביכל
- האַנטבוך (hantbukh)a book of reference
- האַנטביכל (hantbikhl)a book of reference
Cite this entry
handbook. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/handbook
“handbook.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/handbook. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “handbook,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/handbook.
Source: handbook on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.