hand Dutch · revision 37206

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=701–800, Lex Salica (Old Dutch ande-)|origins=gem-pro *handuz}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ɦɑnt/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''hand''' ''f'' (plural handen, diminutive handje n)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|dum|hant]], [[inh|odt|hant]], [[inh|gmw-pro|*handu]], [[inh|gem-pro|*handuz]].^(EWN)^(Wiktionary)^(ONW) It is a common Germanic word: [[osx|hand]], [[goh|hant]] (modern [[de|Hand]]), [[ofs|hond]] (modern [[fy|hân]]), [[ang|hand]] (modern [[en|hand]]), [[non|hǫnd]] (modern [[sv|hand]]) and [[got|𐌷𐌰𐌽𐌳𐌿𐍃|tr=handus]], all meaning “hand” or “hand and arm”.^(EWN)^(De Vries 1971)^(Kroonen 2013) It was a u-stem in Proto-Germanic and later passed into the i-stems.^(EWN)^(Kroonen 2013) Beside it stand verbs from ⟨*handjan-⟩, such as Middle Dutch [[m|dum|handen|t=to use the hands, govern]] and [[ang|hendan|t=to seize]].^(EWN)

+

+ No related words are known outside Germanic.^(EWN)^(De Vries & De Tollenaere 2004|156)^(Van Haeringen 1936) 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.^(EWN) Kroonen sees no compelling reason for this link with Finnish [[m|fi|käsi|t=hand]], and derives the noun from the strong verb [[gem-pro|*hinþaną|alt=*hinþan-|t=to reach for]].^(Kroonen 2013) Older dictionaries likewise saw it as “the grasper”, related to [[got|𐍆𐍂𐌰𐌷𐌹𐌽𐌸𐌰𐌽|tr=frahinþan|t=to take captive]] and [[m|got|𐌷𐌿𐌽𐌸𐍃|tr=hunþs|t=capture]], just as [[grc|χείρ|tr=kheír|t=hand]] is thought to come from a root meaning “to grasp”.^(De Vries 1971)^(Franck & Van Wijk 1912)^(Van Veen & Van der Sijs 1997)^(WNT) De Vries and De Tollenaere suggest that taboo explains why the Indo-European languages name the hand in so many different ways.^(De Vries & De Tollenaere 2004|156)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The oldest trace is ''ande-'' “hand” in the Frankish glosses of the Lex Salica, of the 8th century.^(EWN)^(Van der Sijs 2001) 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”.^(ONW)^(EWN) The ONW separates the hand as a part of the body, as a tool for doing things, and as a symbol of power.^(ONW) Middle Dutch ''hant'' is first found around 1200, in the Limburg life of Saint Servatius.^(EWN)^(VMNW)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Early Middle Dutch already used ''hant'' for manpower, a person, a side or party, a handful and a handle.^(VMNW) In charters a party confirmed a sale ''met hande ende met monde'', “with hand and mouth” (1281).^(VMNW) The sense “side” is still seen in ''aan de linkerhand'', and in ''allerhande'' and ''drieërhande'' the word came to mean “kind, sort”.^(Pluim 1911)^(MNW) Someone's ''rechterhand'' was their chief helper already in Middle Dutch.^(MNW)

+

+ The breadth of a hand served as a measure.^(WNT) 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.^(Stoett 1923)^(Van Veen & Van der Sijs 1997) Sailors called the blade of an anchor its hand, because it grips the ground.^(Winschoten 1681)

+

+ In Surinamese Dutch ''hand'' can mean the whole arm, and a bunch of bananas.^(Van Donselaar 1989) The word was borrowed into Sranan Tongo as ''anu'' (older ''han''), which passed it on to Aukan, and into Sarnami as ''háñth''.^(Van der Sijs 2010)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 701–800 – ''Ande-'' appears in the glosses of the Lex Salica.^(EWN)^(Van der Sijs 2001)

+ * 901–1000 – ''Hant'' and ''hendi'' appear in the Wachtendonck Psalms.^(ONW)^(EWN)

+ * c. 1200 – Middle Dutch ''hant'' appears in the life of Servatius.^(EWN)^(VMNW)

+ * 1237 – A Ghent bylaw allows a thief's hand to be cut off.^(VMNW)

+ * 1281 – A Ghent charter has ''met hande ende met monde''.^(VMNW)

+ * 1566 – ''Hant om hant'' “hand for hand” is used for the law of retaliation.^(WNT)

+ * 1709 – The proverb ''als men hem een vinger geeft, neemt hij de hand'' is recorded.^(WNT)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # [[m|en|hand]], the part of the body at the end of each arm, used for gripping and holding.^(Van Dale 2014)^(Wiktionary)

+ # [[m|en|handwriting]]: ''Ik herkende haar hand op de envelop.''^(Van Dale 2014)

+ # A part of a tool or instrument shaped like a hand, such as the blades of an [[anker]].^(Van Dale 2014)^(Winschoten 1681)

+ # ''(card games)'' The cards a player holds: ''een sterke hand''.^(Van Dale 2014)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[handje]]

+ * [[handelen]]

+ * [[handig]]

+ * [[behendig]]

+ * [[heinde]]

+ * [[handhaven]]

+ * [[handschoen]]

+ * [[handvest]]

+ * [[handboek]]

+ * [[handlanger]]

+ * [[voorhanden]]

+ * [[afhandig]]

+ * [[overhandigen]]

+ * [[linkerhand]]

+ * [[rechterhand]]

+ * [[allerhande]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[en|hand]]

+

+ ==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.^(Van Dale 2014) ''Zijn hand overspelen'', from card games, is to ask too much in negotiations.^(Van Dale 2014)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}