guide vs manual

guide

noun
  • A document or book that offers information or instruction; guidebook. 

  • Someone who guides, especially someone hired to show people around a place or an institution and offer information and explanation, or to lead them through dangerous terrain. 

  • A grooved director for a probe or knife in surgery. 

  • A sign that guides people; guidepost. 

  • A blade or channel for directing the flow of water to the buckets in a water wheel. 

  • A spirit believed to speak through a medium. 

  • A member of a group marching in formation who sets the pattern of movement or alignment for the rest. 

  • Any marking or object that catches the eye to provide quick reference. 

verb
  • to serve as a guide for someone or something; to lead or direct in a way; to conduct in a course or path. 

  • to act as a guide. 

  • to exert control or influence over someone or something. 

  • to supervise the education or training of someone. 

  • to steer or navigate, especially a ship or as a pilot. 

manual

noun
  • A handbook. 

  • A vehicle with a manual transmission. 

  • A similar maneuver on a skateboard, lifting the front or back wheels while keeping the tail or nose of the board from touching the ground. 

  • A keyboard for the hands on a harpsichord, organ, or other musical instrument. 

  • A drill in the use of weapons, etc. 

  • Manual control or operation. 

  • An old office-book like the modern Roman Catholic ritual. 

  • A manual typewriter (as contrasted with an electronic one). 

  • Manual measurement of the blood pressure, done with a manual sphygmomanometer. 

  • A bicycle technique whereby the front wheel is held aloft by the rider, without the use of pedal force. 

  • A manual transmission; a gearbox, especially of a motorized vehicle, shifted by the operator. 

  • A booklet that instructs on the usage of a particular machine or product. 

adj
  • Performed with the hands. 

  • Operated by means of the hands. 

  • Performed by a human rather than a machine. 

How often have the words guide and manual occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )