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hand

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Pronunciation

Forms

hand f (plural handen, diminutive handje n)[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle Dutch hant, inherited from Old Dutch hant, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *handu, inherited from Proto-Germanic *handuz.[2][1][3] It is a common Germanic word: Old Saxon hand, Old High German hant (modern German Hand), Old Frisian hond (modern West Frisian hân), Old English hand (modern English hand), Old Norse hǫnd (modern Swedish hand) and Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐌽𐌳𐌿𐍃 (handus), all meaning “hand” or “hand and arm”.[2][4][5] It was a u-stem in Proto-Germanic and later passed into the i-stems.[2][5] Beside it stand verbs from ⟨*handjan-⟩, such as Middle Dutch handen (“to use the hands, govern”) and Old English hendan (“to seize”).[2]

No related words are known outside Germanic.[2][6][7] The Philippa dictionary therefore takes it as almost certainly a word from a pre-Indo-European substrate language, and follows Schrijver (2001), who derives it from pre-Germanic ⟨*kant-⟩, close to a Proto-Finno-Ugric word for “hand, arm” but with the nasal infix typical of Germanic substrate words.[2] Kroonen sees no compelling reason for this link with Finnish käsi (“hand”), and derives the noun from the strong verb Proto-Germanic *hinþan- (“to reach for”).[5] Older dictionaries likewise saw it as “the grasper”, related to Gothic 𐍆𐍂𐌰𐌷𐌹𐌽𐌸𐌰𐌽 (frahinþan, “to take captive”) and 𐌷𐌿𐌽𐌸𐍃 (hunþs, “capture”), just as Ancient Greek χείρ (kheír, “hand”) is thought to come from a root meaning “to grasp”.[4][8][9][10] De Vries and De Tollenaere suggest that taboo explains why the Indo-European languages name the hand in so many different ways.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The oldest trace is ande- “hand” in the Frankish glosses of the Lex Salica, of the 8th century.[2][11] In the 10th-century Wachtendonck Psalms hant and the plural hendi are frequent: hendi sina uuascon sal an bluodi sundigis, “he shall wash his hands in the blood of the sinner”.[3][2] The ONW separates the hand as a part of the body, as a tool for doing things, and as a symbol of power.[3] Middle Dutch hant is first found around 1200, in the Limburg life of Saint Servatius.[2][12]

Semantic evolution

Early Middle Dutch already used hant for manpower, a person, a side or party, a handful and a handle.[12] In charters a party confirmed a sale met hande ende met monde, “with hand and mouth” (1281).[12] The sense “side” is still seen in aan de linkerhand, and in allerhande and drieërhande the word came to mean “kind, sort”.[13][14] Someone's rechterhand was their chief helper already in Middle Dutch.[14]

The breadth of a hand served as a measure.[10] Many phrases are old: iemand de hand boven het hoofd houden is to protect someone, as with a hand held over the head against blows, and de hand in eigen boezem steken is to look at one's own guilt, a phrase often traced to Exodus 4:6, which Stoett thinks is not its direct source.[15][9] Sailors called the blade of an anchor its hand, because it grips the ground.[16]

In Surinamese Dutch hand can mean the whole arm, and a bunch of bananas.[17] The word was borrowed into Sranan Tongo as anu (older han), which passed it on to Aukan, and into Sarnami as háñth.[18][1]

Timeline

  • 701–800 – Ande- appears in the glosses of the Lex Salica.[2][11]
  • 901–1000 – Hant and hendi appear in the Wachtendonck Psalms.[3][2]
  • c. 1200 – Middle Dutch hant appears in the life of Servatius.[2][12]
  • 1237 – A Ghent bylaw allows a thief's hand to be cut off.[12]
  • 1281 – A Ghent charter has met hande ende met monde.[12]
  • 1566 – Hant om hant “hand for hand” is used for the law of retaliation.[10]
  • 1709 – The proverb als men hem een vinger geeft, neemt hij de hand is recorded.[10]

Meanings

Noun

  1. hand, the part of the body at the end of each arm, used for gripping and holding.[19][1]
  2. handwriting: Ik herkende haar hand op de envelop.[19]
  3. A part of a tool or instrument shaped like a hand, such as the blades of an anker.[19][16]
  4. (card games) The cards a player holds: een sterke hand.[19]

Word family

  • handje
  • handelen
  • handig
  • behendig
  • heinde
  • handhaven
  • handschoen
  • handvest
  • handboek
  • handlanger
  • voorhanden
  • afhandig
  • overhandigen
  • linkerhand
  • rechterhand
  • allerhande

Usage notes

Aan de hand van means “by means of, on the basis of”, and iets aan de hand hebben is to be busy with something, in Belgium informally also to be in trouble.[19] Zijn hand overspelen, from card games, is to ask too much in negotiations.[19]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Philippa, Marlies; Debrabandere, Frans; Quak, Arend; Schoonheim, Tanneke; Sijs, Nicoline van der (2003–2009), Etymologisch woordenboek van het Nederlands, 4 vols., Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press; online via etymologiebank.nl
  3. ^ a b c d Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org
  4. ^ a b Vries, Jan de (1971), Nederlands etymologisch woordenboek, Leiden: Brill
  5. ^ a b c Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill
  6. ^ a b Vries, Jan de; Tollenaere, Félicien de (2004), Etymologisch woordenboek: onze woorden, hun oorsprong en ontwikkeling, 23rd ed., Utrecht: Het Spectrum, p. 156
  7. ^ Haeringen, C. B. van (1936), Etymologisch woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal: Supplement, 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff
  8. ^ Franck, Johannes; Wijk, Nicolaas van (1912), Franck's Etymologisch woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal, 2nd ed., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff
  9. ^ a b Veen, P. A. F. van; Sijs, Nicoline van der (1997), Etymologisch woordenboek: de herkomst van onze woorden, 2nd ed., Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Lexicografie
  10. ^ a b c d Vries, Matthias de; Winkel, L. A. te, et al. (1882–1998), Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal, 29 vols., 's-Gravenhage / Leiden: Nijhoff / Sijthoff / SDU; supplement 2001; gtb.ivdnt.org
  11. ^ a b Sijs, Nicoline van der (2001), Chronologisch woordenboek: de ouderdom en herkomst van onze woorden en betekenissen, Amsterdam / Antwerpen: Veen
  12. ^ a b c d e f Pijnenburg, W. J. J., et al. (2001), Vroegmiddelnederlands woordenboek: woordenboek van het Nederlands van de dertiende eeuw in hoofdzaak op basis van het Corpus-Gysseling, Leiden: Instituut voor Nederlandse Lexicologie; gtb.ivdnt.org
  13. ^ Pluim, T. (1911), Keur van Nederlandsche woordafleidingen, Purmerend: Muusses
  14. ^ a b Verwijs, Eelco; Verdam, Jacob (1885–1929), Middelnederlandsch woordenboek, 11 vols., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff; gtb.ivdnt.org
  15. ^ Stoett, F. A. (1923–1925), Nederlandsche spreekwoorden, spreekwijzen, uitdrukkingen en gezegden, 4th ed., 3 vols., Zutphen: Thieme
  16. ^ a b Winschoten, Wigardus à (1681), Seeman: behelsende een grondige uitlegging van de Neederlandse konst- en spreekwoorden, voor soo veel die uit de seevaart sijn ontleend, Leiden
  17. ^ Donselaar, J. van (1989), Woordenboek van het Surinaams-Nederlands, Muiderberg: Coutinho
  18. ^ Sijs, Nicoline van der (2010), Nederlandse woorden wereldwijd, Den Haag: Sdu; with additions from the Uitleenwoordenbank (2015)
  19. ^ a b c d e f Van Dale Groot woordenboek hedendaags Nederlands (2014), Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Uitgevers