hand

Etymology 1

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”).

noun

1. The part of the forelimb below the forearm or wrist in a human, and the corresponding part in many other animals.
   Her hands are really strong.
   Meronyms: index finger, middle finger, palm, pinky, ring finger, thumb
   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. 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 7, in Mr. Pratt's Patients
   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. 2012, John Branch, “Snow Fall : The Avalanche at Tunnel Creek”, in New York Time
2. That which resembles, or to some extent performs the office of, a human hand.
   1. A limb of certain animals, such as the foot of a hawk, or any one of the four extremities of a monkey.
   2. 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.
3. That which is, or may be, held in a hand at once.
   1. (card games) The set of cards held by a player.
      1. A round of a card game.
   2. (tobacco manufacturing) A bundle of tobacco leaves tied together.
   3. (collective) A bunch of bananas.
4. That which has the appearance of, a human hand.
   1. A bunch of bananas, a typical retail amount, where individual fruits are fingers.
5. In linear measurement:
   1. (chiefly in measuring the height of horses) Four inches, a hand's breadth.
   2. (obsolete) Three inches.
6. A side; part, camp; direction, either right or left.
7. Power of performance; means of execution; ability; skill; dexterity.
8. (especially in compounds) An agent; a servant, or manual laborer; a workman, trained or competent for special service or duty.
   Large farms need many farm hands.
   For this scene, a large number of supers are engaged, and in order to further swell the crowd, practically all the available stage hands have to ‘walk on’ dressed in various coloured dominoes, and all wearing masks. 1905, Baroness Emmuska Orczy, chapter 2, in The Affair at the Novelty Theatre
9. A performer more or less skilful.
   an old hand at public speaking
   I was always reckoned a lively hand at a simile. 1811, William Hazlitt, “A Day by the Fire”, in The Reflector
   At the church sociables he used to hop around among them, chipping and chirping like a dicky-bird picking up seed; and he was a great hand to play the piano, and sing saddish, sweetish songs to them. 1903, George Horace Lorimer, Letters from a Self-Made Merchant to his Son, page 46
10. An instance of helping.
    Bob gave Alice a hand to move the furniture.
11. Handwriting; style of penmanship.
    a good hand
    With an unquenchable enthusiasm for locomotives and their work, at an early age I had commenced to keep engine and traffic-recording notebooks, compiled in a schoolboy's round hand. 1946 March and April, R. A. H. Weight, “Euston to the North-West”, in Railway Magazine, page 69
    [T]he pleasure of writing on wax with a stylus is exemplified by the fine, flowing hand of a Roman scribe who made out the birth certificate of Herennia Gemella, born March 128 AD. 14 September 2013, Jane Shilling, “The Golden Thread: the Story of Writing, by Ewan Clayton, review [print edition: Illuminating language]”, in The Daily Telegraph (Review), page R28
12. A person's autograph or signature.
    Given under my Hand and Seal of the State this 1st Day of January, 2010.
13. Promise, word; especially of a betrothal.
    They once made Mourning and Fasting for the Death of the English Governor, who had given his Hand to come on such a Day to 'em, and neither came nor sent; believing, when a Man's Word was past, nothing but Death could or should prevent his keeping it: And when they saw he was not dead, they ask'd him what Name they had for a Man who promis'd a Thing he did not do? Montague Summers (editor), The Works of Aphra Behn, volume V, page 132
    Few would rely upon the word or oath of any man who had been known to break a hand-promise. 1868, William Carleton, Traits and Stories of the Irish Peasantry, volume 2, page 179
14. Personal possession; ownership.
15. (usually in the plural, hands) Management, domain, control.
    in safe hands;  in good hands;  He lost his job when the factory changed hands.  With the business back in the founder's hands, there is new hope for the company.  With John in charge of the project, it's in good hands.
    The method, in the hands of an experienced team of physicians and technicians, has become a relatively safe and useful procedure in the study of congenital heart disease and an accurate device for calculating cardiac output. 1951 March, J. H. Lehmann, A. D. Johnson, W. C. Bridges, J. Michel, D. M. Green, “Cardiac Catheterization—A Diagnostic Aid in Congenital Heart Disease”, in Northwest Medicine, volume 50, number 3, Portland, Ore.: Northwest Medical Publishing Association, page 170
16. Applause.
    Give him a hand.
    Also a big hand for Silver Linings Playbook, an exuberant modern screwball comedy we had, in an unseemly fit of cynicism, deemed "too entertaining" for Academy voters. 11 January 2013, Tom Shone, The Guardian
17. (historical) A Native American gambling game, involving guessing the whereabouts of bits of ivory or similar, which are passed rapidly from hand to hand.
18. (firearms) The small part of a gunstock near the lock, which is grasped by the hand in taking aim.
19. A whole rhizome of ginger.
20. The feel of a fabric; the impression or quality of the fabric as judged qualitatively by the sense of touch.
    This fabric has a smooth, soft hand.
21. (archaic) Actual performance; deed; act; workmanship; agency; hence, manner of performance.
22. (archaic) Agency in transmission from one person to another.
    to buy at first hand (from the producer, or when new);  to buy at second hand (when no longer in the producer’s hand, or when not new);  It's not a rumor. I heard it at first hand.
23. (obsolete) Rate; price.

Etymology 2

From Middle English handen, honden, from the noun (see above); and also from henden (> English hend), from Old English *hendan, ġehendan (“to seize by hand, grasp, hold”), from Proto-West Germanic *handijan, from Proto-Germanic *handijaną (“to take by hand, grasp”), from the noun (see above). Cognate with Old Frisian handa, henda (“to grasp, seize”), Middle Low German handen, henden (in derivatives), Dutch handen, henden (“to arrange, dispose, be handy”), Dutch overhandigen (“to hand, hand over”), Middle High German handen (“to cut, hew”), Middle High German henden (“to give hands to; take hold of, seize”), Old Norse henda (“to grasp, seize, take by hand”).

verb

1. (transitive) To give, pass or transmit with the hand, literally or figuratively.
   He handed them the letter. She handed responsibility over to her deputy.
   It has jailed environmental activists and is planning to limit the power of judicial oversight by handing a state-approved body a monopoly over bringing environmental lawsuits. 2013-08-10, “Can China clean up fast enough?”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8848
   However, Anyon Kay remembers a Mr Walton Ainsworth, of Beech House, Rivington, who owned mills in Bolton, being a regular user before the First World War. He used to drive by horse and trap from his mansion to catch the 0906 train to Bolton each day. Before arriving at the station, local newsagent Tom Dutton would hand Mr Ainsworth his morning paper! March 8 2023, Paul Salveson, “Fond farewells to two final trains...”, in RAIL, number 978, page 54
2. (transitive) To lead, guide, or assist with the hand; to conduct.
   to hand a lady into a carriage
3. (transitive, obsolete) To manage.
4. (transitive, obsolete) To seize; to lay hands on.
5. (transitive, rare) To pledge by the hand; to handfast.
6. (transitive, nautical, said of a sail) To furl.
   send the people up to hand the sail, and when up, before they goon the yard, I'll clap the rolling tackle on to steady it 1814, John Hamilton Moore, “Examination of a Young Sea Officer”, in The new practical navigator, nineteenth edition
   In the very long run from the west side of America to Guam, among the Philippine Islands, ships seldom have occasion to hand their sails, so equal and steady is the gale, and yet they make it in about 60 days, which could not be if the wind blew only in the afternoon. 1834 [November 4, 1756], Benjamin Franklin, “Observations in answer to the foregoing.”, in Memoirs of Benjamin Franklin, volume II, Philadelphia: McCarty & Davis, →OCLC, page 344, column 1
7. (intransitive, obsolete) To cooperate.