Manicule

The manicule, ☞, is a typographical mark with the appearance of a hand with its index finger extended in a pointing gesture. It is typically used to draw the reader's attention to a certain part of a text. In older texts, it had a broader variety of uses including indicating section headers, marginal notes, and terms for cross-reference. The term manicule was derived from the Latin manicula, or 'little hand', though it has been known by many other names, often related to its various functions, including fist, index, and pointer. Originally used for handwritten marginal notes, it saw widespread usage during the Renaissance by readers who annotated their own books. After the invention of movable type, manicules were cast in metal type blocks and were commonly used in 19th-century advertisements. The symbol's popularity declined by the end of the century, perhaps due to oversaturation. The manicule is infrequently used today, except as an occasional archaic novelty or on informal directional signs. Similar symbols persist as emoji and in the standard hand cursor icon used for clickable hyperlinks or other interactive elements.