"H" Word Origins

handbrake

Origin

A compound of hand and brake, describing a brake operated manually rather than by foot.

handbreadth

Origin

Alteration (due to breadth) of Middle English handbrede, hondbrede (“handbreadth”); equivalent to hand + breadth. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Houndebratte (“handbreadth”), West Frisian hânbreedte (“handbreadth”), Dutch handbreedte (“handbreadth”), German Handbreite (“handbreadth”) and Handbreit, Swedish handsbredd (“handbreadth”), Norwegian håndsbredd (“handbreadth”), Icelandic handbreidd (“handbreadth”).

handcar

Origin

From hand + car.

handcart

Origin

From hand + cart.

handcraft

Origin

From Middle English handcrafte, handecraft, hond-craft, from Old English handcræft, equivalent to hand + -craft. Cognate with Dutch handkracht, German Handkraft.

handcrafted

Origin

A compound of hand and crafted, emphasizing manual skill in the making.

handcuff

Old English

From hand + cuff, likely a reinvention of an older Old English compound with a similar meaning, since the word disappears from records for centuries before resurfacing.

handcuffs

Origin · 1775

From hand + cuff, first recorded in this form around 1775.

handed

Origin

From hand + the suffix -ed.

Handel

German · 1685

A German surname, notably that of Baroque composer George Frideric Handel (1685-1759).

handfast

Origin

From Middle English hondfast, past participle of Middle English hondfesten (“to betroth”), from Old Norse handfesta (“to strike a bargain, pledge”), itself from hönd (“hand”) + festa (“to fasten, fix, affirm”), perhaps from a Proto-Indo-European root *pHst-.

handful

Old English

From Old English handfull, a compound of hand and full.

handgun

Origin

A compound of hand and gun, describing a firearm designed for one-handed use.

handicap

Origin

From the old phrase "hand in cap," a forfeit game where players held stake money in a cap — later borrowed for sports where competitors are given adjusted odds.

handicraft

Origin

For handcraft, influenced by handiwork; Old English handcræft. By surface analysis, handy + -craft.

handicraftsman

Origin

From handicraft + -s- + -man.

handily

Origin

From handy + -ly. Compare Middle English hendily, hendiliche.

handiwork

Old English

From Old English handġeweorc, literally "hand" + "work" — work done with one's own hands.

handkerchief

Old French

From "hand" + "kerchief" (itself from Old French couvre-chief, "cover for the head").

handle

Old English

From Old English handle, related to "hand" — originally the part of a tool meant to be held.

handler

Origin

From "handle" plus the agent suffix "-er" — one who handles something.

handless

Origin

From Middle English handles, from Old English *handlēas, from Proto-Germanic *handulausaz (“handless”), equivalent to hand + -less. Cognate with West Frisian hânleas (“handless”), German handlos (“handless”), Icelandic handlauss (“handless”).

handling

Old English

From "handle" plus "-ing," from Old English handlung.

handlock

Origin

From hand + lock.

handly

Origin

From Middle English handly, handliche; equivalent to hand + -ly. Compare German handlich (“handy, manageable”), Swedish handlig (“handy”).

handmade

Origin

From "hand" + "made."

handout

Origin

A noun formed from the phrasal verb "hand out."

handover

Origin

A noun formed from the phrasal verb "hand over."

handpicked

Origin

From "hand" + "picked" — literally picked by hand, extended to mean carefully selected.

handprint

Origin

From "hand" + "print."

handrail

Origin

From hand + rail.

handset

Origin

From "hand" + "set."

handshake

Origin

From "hand" + "shake" — literally the shaking of hands.

handshoe

Origin

See handshoe.

handsome

Middle English · 1500

From Middle English handsum ("easy to handle"), from "hand" + "-some." The meaning shifted over time from "convenient" to "attractive" by the late 1500s.

handsomely

Origin

From "handsome" + the adverb-forming suffix "-ly."

handstand

Origin

From "hand" + "stand."

handsy

Origin

From "hand" + "-y," describing someone overly quick with their hands.

handwork

Origin

From Middle English hondwerk, from Old English handweorc (“work done by hand; handiwork”), from Proto-Germanic *handuwerką; equivalent to hand + work. Cognate with Dutch handwerk, German Handwerk, Swedish hantverk.

handwrit

Origin

From Middle English hande-writt, from Old English handġewrit (“handwriting, autograph, written agreement”), equivalent to hand + writ.

handwriting

Origin

From "hand" + "writing."

handwritten

Origin

From "hand" + "written."

handy

Old English

From Old English hendiġ ("skillful"), related to "hand."

handyman

Origin

From "handy" + "man."

hang

Old English

From Old English hōn and hangian, both meaning "to hang," from a common Proto-Germanic root.

hangar

French

From French hangar ("shed"), ultimately from an Old Frankish word meaning an enclosure near a house.

hangbird

Origin

From hang + bird.

hanger

Origin

From "hang" plus the agent suffix "-er" — something used to hang things on.