longhand

English

TheU.S. Constitutionwas written inlonghand.

Etymology

Fromlong+‎hand,by analogy withshorthand.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):/ˈlɒŋˌhænd/

• Audio(Southern England):

  (file)

Noun

longhand(countableanduncountable,plurallonghands)

1. The written characters used in the common method of writing; opposed toshorthand,ortypingorprinting;handwriting.

   Synonym:handwriting

   Antonym:shorthand

   • 1910,Jerome Bird Howard,The Phonographic Amanuensis,page210:

     When, however, in any particular case, he has no assured means of determining the true spelling of the name, he should always quietly interrupt the dictater with the request, "Spell it, please," and then write the name inlonghandfrom the dictater's spelling.

Adverb

longhand(notcomparable)

1. Written by hand in normal characters, as opposed toshorthand.

   Antonym:shorthand

   Coordinate term:engross

2. Written by hand (with pen or pencil), rather than printed out;handwritten.

   Synonym:handwritten

   Antonyms:print,print out

   I had to write the essay out twicelonghand– they wouldn’t let me print it out. It took forever!

Further reading

• longhandon Wikipedia.Wikipedia