Hand

Forms

Hand f (genitive Hand, plural Hände, diminutive Händchen n or Händlein n or Handerl n)^[1] The word was originally a u-stem, so the dative plural long had the form Handen without umlaut.^[2][3] It survives in abhanden, vorhanden and zu Handen, and the old genitive plural in allerhand.^[2][4] With measures the plural is Hand: zwei Hand breit.^[5]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle High German hant, inherited from Old High German hant, inherited from Proto-Germanic *handuz (“hand”).^[6][1][7] The same word is Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐌽𐌳𐌿𐍃 (handus), Old Norse hǫnd, Old English hond, Old Frisian hand and Old Saxon hand.^[6][7]

Its origin is disputed.^[6] The usual view connects it with the Germanic verb seen in Gothic 𐍆𐍂𐌰𐌷𐌹𐌽𐌸𐌰𐌽 (frahinþan, “to take captive”) and 𐌷𐌿𐌽𐌸𐍃 (hunþs, “captivity”), so that the hand would be “the grasper”.^[6][8][4] Kluge points out that this is difficult, because Germanic has no agent nouns of this kind.^[6] The EWA thinks it most likely that the verb comes from a root Proto-Indo-European *ḱent- (“to prick”), as in Ancient Greek κεντέω (kentéō, “to prick”), and that an action noun “grasping” became an agent noun; it also discusses a derivation from *tek- (“to stretch out the hand, receive”).^[3] Pfeifer reports that no link outside Germanic can be proved, so that de Vries thought of a pre-Indo-European substrate.^[8]

Old High German moved the word into the i-declension; only the dative plural hantum kept the old u-stem ending.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Old High German hant is recorded in glosses from the third quarter of the 8th century and in most early texts, meaning “hand, arm”, but also “power, possession, protection”, “side” and “army”.^[9][3] Phrases such as zi henti geban “to hand over” and in hant gineman “to take up” are already found.^[10][3]

Semantic evolution

The hand plays a part in many symbolic acts, and the language keeps phrases for gestures no longer made: für jemanden die Hand ins Feuer legen “to vouch for someone”, jemandem die Hand seiner Tochter geben, and the Austrian greeting küss die Hand.^[2] Medieval law spoke of a promise mit Hand und Mund “by hand and mouth”, from the end of the 13th century.^[2] Because the hand does most work, many phrases express activity, even mental work: alle Hände voll zu tun haben, keine Hand rühren, freie Hand haben.^[2]

From “hand” came the sense “side” (linker Hand “on the left”) and in Middle High German “kind”, which survives in allerhand.^[4][2] Many compounds are old: Handschuh “glove” is recorded in the 9th century, Handbuch in the 15th century as a translation of Latin manuale, and Handstreich “surprise attack” in the early 19th century as a translation of French coup de main.^[8][11] Das Handtuch werfen “to throw in the towel” comes from boxing in the 20th century.^[8] In sport Hand is short for Handspiel “handball”.^[5][1]

Timeline

• 8th century – Old High German hant in glosses.^[9][6]
• 9th century – hantscuoh “glove” and hanthaba “handle”.^[8]
• Late 13th century – The legal formula mit Hand und Mund.^[2]
• 14th century – abhanden, literally “from the hands”.^[4]
• 15th century – vorhanden “at hand”, Handbuch and Handschrift.^[8][4]
• 17th century – aushändigen and Handgemenge.^[8]
• Early 19th century – Handstreich as a translation of coup de main.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. The hand, the part of the arm formed by the wrist, palm and five fingers, used for holding and grasping.^[5][1]
2. (figurative) Possession, control or power: in sicheren Händen;^[5][2] die öffentliche Hand “the state as owner of public property”.^[5][2]
3. (dated) Handwriting.^[5][1]
4. Side, in linker Hand, rechter Hand “on the left, on the right”.^[4][12]
5. (football) Short for Handspiel: handball.^[5][1]
6. (boxing jargon) A punch.^[5]
7. (cards) In skat, a game played without taking up the skat.^[12]

Word family

• handeln
• handlich
• aushändigen
• behände
• abhanden
• vorhanden
• allerhand
• Oberhand
• überhandnehmen
• Handschuh
• Handschrift
• Handbuch
• Handtuch
• handhaben
• Handlanger
• handgreiflich
• Hantel

Related words

• English hand

Usage notes

Duden explains several idioms: Hand aufs Herz! “honestly!” refers to the old custom of laying the hand on the heart when swearing an oath;^[4] Hand und Fuß haben “to be well thought out” first meant that a person was not maimed and so could be relied on; and die Hand für jemanden ins Feuer legen refers to medieval ordeals by fire.^[4]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Paul, Hermann (2002), Deutsches Wörterbuch: Bedeutungsgeschichte und Aufbau unseres Wortschatzes, 10th ed., ed. Helmut Henne, Heidrun Kämper and Georg Objartel, Tübingen: Niemeyer
3. ^ a b c d e Lloyd, Albert L.; Springer, Otto; Lühr, Rosemarie, et al. (1988–), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Althochdeutschen, Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht; online ewa.saw-leipzig.de, p. 4, 814
4. ^ a b c d e f g h Duden. Das Herkunftswörterbuch: Etymologie der deutschen Sprache (2020), 6th ed., Duden vol. 7, Berlin: Dudenverlag
5. ^ a b c d e f g h Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag
6. ^ a b c d e f Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 391
7. ^ a b Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill
8. ^ a b c d e f g h Pfeifer, Wolfgang, et al. (1993), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Deutschen, 2nd ed., Berlin: Akademie-Verlag; digital revised version in the DWDS, dwds.de
9. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
10. ^ Schützeichel, Rudolf (2012), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 7th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 140
11. ^ Wahrig-Burfeind, Renate, ed., Wahrig Herkunftswörterbuch, Gütersloh / München: Wissen Media Verlag; online edition at wissen.de
12. ^ a b Wiktionary, das freie Wörterbuch (German Wiktionary), de.wiktionary.org