Cheirograph
/ˈkaɪroʊˌɡræf/noun
A document or contract signed by hand; in historical legal use, a written agreement.
Did you know?In medieval Latin, a cheirograph was a legal instrument written and signed in duplicate or with a matching cut, making the written hand itself a tool of binding authority.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
kheír + gráphein
“hand + to write”
Late Greek
Greek
kheirographon
“a handwritten document or bond”
Medieval Latin
Latin
chirographum
“a written contract or deed”
Middle English
English
cheirograph
“a deed or written obligation”
Modern English
English
cheirograph
“a formal written agreement”
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