hand
/hænd/
Word Rarity
Common
Frequency: 5.41 in modern English
8
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
1
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
The part of the forelimb below the forearm or wrist in humans and other primates, and the corresponding part in many other animals.
noun
That which resembles, or to some extent performs the office of, a human hand.
noun
That which resembles, or to some extent performs the office of, a human hand.
noun
In linear measurement:
Example Sentences
- "Her hands are really strong."
- "I made a speaking trumpet of my hands and commenced to whoop “Ahoy!” and “Hello!” at the top of my lungs. […] The Colonel woke up, and, after asking what in brimstone was the matter, opened his mouth and roared “Hi!” and “Hello!” like the bull of Bashan."
- "Using her hands like windshield wipers, she tried to flick snow away from her mouth. When she clawed at her chest and neck, the crumbs maddeningly slid back onto her face. She grew claustrophobic."
- "The fruits of these kickstarted endeavors began to show in 1915, first in the deployment of a new range of depth charges. These were, mercifully, smaller than Jellicoe's "crushing hand of God" prototype, and, whilst practically just as lethal to submarines, they were significantly less risky to the launching ship, and could also be carried in larger numbers."
- "I hear the clock a'ticking on the mantel shelf / See the hands a'moving, but I'm by myself"
- "Boxer was an enormous beast, nearly eighteen hands high, and as strong as any two ordinary horses put together."
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”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /hænd/
- British English: /hænd/
Usage
Subject
Wiktionary places this term in Medicine.
Inflected Forms
hands (plural)
hands (present, singular)
handing (participle, present)
handed (participle, past)
handed (past)
no-table-tags (table tags)
glossary (inflection template)
handed (first person, past)
handest (archaic, present)
handed (past, second person)
handedst (archaic, past)
handeth (archaic, present)