What's the meaning of "on-line" in the man page of man? [closed]

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$ man man
...
NAME
       man - an interface to the on-line reference manuals
...

What's the meaning of on-line here?

Answer 1

Available from the command line? :)

"On-line" can mean available immediately/connected/ready to use, which accurately describes a manual contained within the system itself. Considering the age of this, it may also refer to electronic manual as opposed to printed manual.