English Explanatory Dictionary

hand

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. The part of the forelimb below the forearm or wrist in a human, and the corresponding part in many other animals.
  2. That which resembles, or to some extent performs the office of, a human hand.
  3. A limb of certain animals, such as the foot of a hawk, or any one of the four extremities of a monkey.
  4. An index or pointer on a dial; such as the hour and minute hands on the face of an analog clock, which are used to indicate the time of day.
  5. That which is, or may be, held in a hand at once.
  6. The set of cards held by a player.
  7. A round of a card game.
  8. A bundle of tobacco leaves tied together.
  9. A bunch of bananas, a typical retail amount, where individual fruits are fingers.
  10. In linear measurement:
  11. Four inches, a hand's breadth.
  12. Three inches.
verb
  1. To give, pass or transmit with the hand, literally or figuratively.
  2. To lead, guide, or assist with the hand; to conduct.
  3. To manage.
  4. To seize; to lay hands on.
  5. To pledge by the hand; to handfast.
  6. To furl (a sail).
  7. To cooperate.
name
  1. A surname.
phrase
  1. Initialism of have a nice day.

Pronunciation

/ˈhænd/ [ˈhænd] En-uk-hand.ogg LL-Q1860 (eng)-Back ache-hand.wav /ˈheə̯nd/ [ˈheə̯nd] /ˈhɛə̯nd/ [ˈhɛə̯nd] LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-hand.wav en-us-hand.ogg /ˈhɛ̝ːnd/ [ˈhɛ̝ːnd] [ˈhänd] /ˈhɛnd/ [ˈhɛnd]

Word forms

hand hands handing handed no-table-tags glossary handest handedst handeth

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *handuz Proto-West Germanic *handu Old English hand Middle English hond English hand From Middle English hond, hand, from Old English hand, from Proto-West Germanic *handu, from Proto-Germanic *handuz. See also Dutch and Swedish hand (“hand”), Danish hånd, German Hand, West Frisian hân. Perhaps compare Old Swedish hinna (“to gain”), Gothic 𐍆𐍂𐌰-𐌷𐌹𐌽𐌸𐌰𐌽 (fra-hinþan, “to take captive, capture”); and Latvian sīts (“hunting spear”), Ancient Greek κεντέω (kentéō, “prick”), Albanian çandër (“pitchfork, prop”).

Synonyms

biscuit hooks hand mauler meat hook manus mound mund paw

Related words

handle

Derived words

a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush aforehand aircrafthand Alaska hand alien hand syndrome all hands American hand-egg ask for someone's hand in marriage at any hand at hand at second hand at the hand of at third hand avocado hand back-hand backhand backhanded back of one's hand ball in hand bare hand barehand bear a hand bear-a-hand beer hand beforehand behand behindhand big hand bind hand and foot bird in the hand bite someone's hand off bite the hand that feeds one book hand bottom hand Buddha's hand by hand by one's own hand by the strong hand cap in hand cash-in-hand cash in hand catch someone with a hand in the cookie jar chancery hand change hand change hands charge hand chargehand charge-hand China hand clawhand clean hands close at hand close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades clubhand cold hand cold hands, warm heart come hand come to hand come to one's hand cool hand

Translations

Afrikaans: handvol Afrikaans: hand Bulgarian: ше́па Bulgarian: ръка́ Danish: håndfuld Danish: hånd Dutch: handvol Dutch: speelhand Esperanto: plenmano Finnish: kourallinen Finnish: käsi French: poignée French: main Georgian: მუჭა Georgian: მუჭი German: Handvoll German: Hand German: Blatt Greek: χεριά Greek: χαρτωσιά Hungarian: marék Hungarian: marok Hungarian: maréknyi Hungarian: maroknyi Hungarian: leosztás Interlingua: manata Interlingua: mano Japanese: 一握り Japanese: 手札 Portuguese: mão Portuguese: punhado Portuguese: mão-cheia Portuguese: mãozada Russian: горсть Russian: комбина́ция Spanish: manotada Spanish: puñado Spanish: mano Vietnamese: ván (a) Vietnamese: buộc (b) Vietnamese: ván Catalan: mà Czech: ruka Galician: man Italian: mano Kabuverdianu: mon Pashto: لاس Iranian Persian: دَسْت Polish: ręka Romanian: mână Scottish Gaelic: làmh Swedish: hand Tamil: கை
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