Etymologically
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handshake

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 31 October 2026 at 21:45. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • US: /ˈhæn(d)ˌʃeɪk/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English hand + shake, both nouns.[2][3][4] The Shorter Oxford takes the rare verb from the noun hand and the verb shake.[5] The phrase shake hands is older, from the 16th century, and handshaking is recorded from 1805.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

An act of shaking a person's hand: the OED's first record is in the Monthly Magazine of January 1802.[2][6] Etymonline gives 1801,[3] while Dictionary.com and the Shorter Oxford date the word to the late 19th century.[4][5]

Semantic evolution

The handshake as a sign of greeting, farewell or agreement gave the word its first sense.[2] From 1958 a handshake was also a gift of money from an employer to someone retiring or being made redundant,[2] and the golden handshake, a large severance payment, appears in a Times headline in 1959.[2] In computing, from 1966, it names the exchange of standard signals by which two devices set up and regulate a transfer of data, a figurative use of the greeting.[2][5] The verb, to shake hands, is recorded from 1878,[2] and in American slang from 1918, especially among soldiers, handshaking meant currying favour.[7]

Timeline

  • 1802 – an act of shaking hands in greeting, farewell or agreement, in the Monthly Magazine.[2][6] Etymonline dates it to 1801.[3]
  • 1805 – handshaking.[3]
  • 1878 – verb, to shake hands.[2]
  • 1918 – US slang verb, to curry favour.[7]
  • 1920 – verb, to shake hands with someone.[2]
  • 1958 – a gift of money from an employer on retirement or redundancy.[2]
  • 1959 – golden handshake, in a Times headline.[2]
  • 1966 – in computing, an exchange of standard signals that regulates the transfer of data.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The act of grasping and shaking another person's hand, as a greeting or farewell or to seal an agreement: The two managers closed the deal with a handshake.[8][6][2]
  2. A payment given by an employer to a person who is leaving a job, especially in golden handshake.[2][8][6]
  3. (computing) An exchange of standard signals between two devices that sets up and regulates the transfer of data.[2][5]

Verb

  1. To shake hands, or to shake hands with someone.[2][5]
  2. (US, slang) To curry favour.[7]

Word family

  • golden handshake
  • handshaking
  • handshaker

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  5. ^ a b c d e Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  7. ^ a b c Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
  8. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins