Manuscript vs. Cursive

Main Difference

The main difference between Manuscript and Cursive is that the Manuscript is a document written by hand and Cursive is a style of penmanship in which some characters are written joined together in a flowing manner, generally for the purpose of making writing faster

• Manuscript

  A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document that is written by hand — or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten — as opposed to being mechanically printed or reproduced in some indirect or automated way. More recently, the term has come to be understood to further include any written, typed, or word-processed copy of an author’s work, as distinguished from its rendition as a printed version of the same. Before the arrival of printing, all documents and books were manuscripts. Manuscripts are not defined by their contents, which may combine writing with mathematical calculations, maps, explanatory figures or illustrations. Manuscripts may be in book form, scrolls or in codex format. Illuminated manuscripts are enriched with pictures, border decorations, elaborately embossed initial letters or full-page illustrations.

• Cursive

  Cursive (also known as script, longhand or joined-up writing, among other names) is any style of penmanship in which some characters are written joined together in a flowing manner, generally for the purpose of making writing faster. Formal cursive is generally joined, but casual cursive is a combination of joins and pen lifts. The writing style can be further divided as “looped”, “italic” or “connected”.

  The cursive method is used with a number of alphabets due to its improved writing speed and infrequent pen lifting. In some alphabets, many or all letters in a word are connected, sometimes making a word one single complex stroke.

• Manuscript (noun)

  a book, document, or piece of music written by hand rather than typed or printed

  “early Gothic manuscripts”

  “an illuminated manuscript”

• Manuscript (noun)

  an author’s handwritten or typed text that has not yet been published

  “her autobiography remained in manuscript”

  “several manuscripts in his own hand”