manuscript

manuscript — noun

1. a writer's unpublished text for a book, article, or other written work, prepared

1.nounB2
Definition

a writer's unpublished text for a book, article, or other written work, prepared before it is sent to a publisher for commercial printing.

Example

Putri submitted the first draft of her manuscript to the publisher last week.

submit + manuscript + to + publisher

The editor asked Yuna to cut the manuscript by twenty pages to get it accepted.

cut + manuscript + by + number + pages

Common collocations
  • submit a manuscript
  • revise a manuscript
  • manuscript deadline
  • original manuscript
  • manuscript submission
Synonyms
  • draft

    an earlier version that still needs revision; a manuscript is usually the final version before submission

  • typescript

    specifically a typed manuscript, more common before digital word processing

  • text

    a more general term that can refer to any written words, whether published or not

Antonyms
  • published book

    the final printed product that a manuscript becomes after editing and printing

Grammar Patterns

manuscript of [something]

in manuscript form

Usage Note

In academic and publishing contexts, a manuscript is typically a complete work submitted for publication; earlier working versions are called drafts.

Common Mistakes

The actor received the manuscript for the movie.
The actor received the script for the movie.
'manuscript' refers to unpublished book or article text; 'script' is used for film, television, and plays.

2. a book or document created by hand during a historical period that predates the

2.nounB2
Definition

a book or document created by hand during a historical period that predates the invention of the printing press.

Example

The museum displayed a beautifully illustrated manuscript from the fifteenth century.

centuries-old + manuscript

Ayesha studied ancient manuscripts written in Latin to complete her research on medieval medicine.

Common collocations
  • illuminated manuscript
  • ancient manuscript
  • medieval manuscript
  • preserve a manuscript
  • manuscript collection
Synonyms
  • codex

    a specific type of ancient manuscript bound as a book, used especially for pre-printed texts

  • scroll

    a roll of papyrus or parchment, a different physical format from a bound manuscript

  • parchment

    the writing material rather than the document; often used to refer to the physical object

Antonyms
  • printed book

    a book produced using a printing press, the opposite of a handwritten manuscript

Grammar Patterns

old/ancient/medieval + manuscript

manuscript from + [century/period]

Usage Note

Distinguish from noun sense 1 (BEFORE PRINTING): sense 2 refers specifically to pre-printing-press handwritten artifacts, not to modern unpublished works. Subject is typically a scholar, librarian, or museum curator.

Common Mistakes

I found a manuscript my grandmother wrote on a napkin.
I found a note my grandmother wrote on a napkin.
'manuscript' describes a substantial formal document, not a casual handwritten message.

manuscript — adjective

Word family

  • manuscripts
    noun (plural)B2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

While all three words describe pre-publication forms of a written work, they mark different stages of the process. A 'draft' is an early or intermediate version that a writer revises — it may be incomplete or rough. A 'manuscript' (noun sense 1) is the final version a writer submits for publication, typically complete and polished. A 'typescript' refers specifically to a typed document, common in the era before digital word processing; today it overlaps with manuscript but emphasises the mechanical format. A 'proof' comes later in the process — it is a trial printed copy sent from the publisher for final error-checking before mass printing. In short: draft → manuscript (submitted) → typescript (format detail) → proof (printed trial). For example: 'The author sent her editor the first draft in January, the final manuscript in June, and received the page proofs in September.'

drafttypescriptproof

Common collocations

Nouns

  • manuscript collection
  • manuscript page
  • manuscript copy
  • manuscript version
  • manuscript form

Phrases

  • in manuscript form

Prepositions

  • manuscript of
  • manuscript from
  • manuscript in

Etymology

LatinEnglish

Manuscript comes directly from the Latin phrase 'manu scriptus', meaning 'written by hand' — 'manu' (by hand) + 'scriptus' (written). It entered English in the late 1500s first as an adjective describing handwritten documents, and later expanded to include any pre-publication text, even typewritten or digital files, as long as it has not yet been printed.