Link Centre Dictionary

hand

UK/hænd/ US/hænd] ~ [hand/ very common
noun (14) verb (2)

noun

1.

the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb

  • “he had the hands of a surgeon”
  • “he extended his mitt”
Synonyms
2.

a hired laborer on a farm or ranch

  • “the hired hand fixed the railing”
  • “a ranch hand”
Synonyms
3.

something written by hand

  • “she recognized his handwriting”
  • “his hand was illegible”
Synonyms
4.

ability

  • “he wanted to try his hand at singing”
5.

a position given by its location to the side of an object

  • “objections were voiced on every hand”
6.

the cards held in a card game by a given player at any given time

  • “I didn”
  • “;”
Synonyms
7.

one of two sides of an issue

  • “on the one hand..., but on the other hand...”
8.

a rotating pointer on the face of a timepiece

  • “the big hand counts the minutes”
9.

a unit of length equal to 4 inches; used in measuring horses

  • “the horse stood 20 hands”
10.

a member of the crew of a ship

  • “all hands on deck”
11.

a card player in a game of bridge

  • “we need a 4th hand for bridge”
Synonyms
12.

a round of applause to signify approval

  • “give the little lady a great big hand”
13.

terminal part of the forelimb in certain vertebrates (e.g. apes or kangaroos)

  • “the kangaroo”
14.

physical assistance

  • “give me a hand with the chores”
Synonyms

verb

1.

place into the hands or custody of

  • “hand me the spoon, please”
  • “Turn the files over to me, please”
  • “He turned over the prisoner to his lawyers”
Synonyms
2.

guide or conduct or usher somewhere

  • “hand the elderly lady into the taxi”

Origin

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”).

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.