Link Centre Dictionary

handful

hand·ful

UK/ˈhæn(d)fʊl/ US/ˈhæn(d)fəl/ fairly common informal slang

noun

1.

a small number or amount

  • “only a handful of responses were received”
Synonyms
2.

the quantity that can be held in the hand

Synonyms

Origin

From Middle English handful, hondful, from Old English handfull (“handful”), from Proto-Germanic *handufullō, *handufulliz (“handful”), from Proto-Germanic *handuz (“hand”) + *fullaz (“full”); equivalent to hand + full (“fullness, plenty”) or hand + -ful. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Hondful (“handful”), West Frisian hânfol (“handful”), Dutch handvol (“handful”), German Handvoll (“handful”), Danish håndfuld (“handful”), Swedish handfull (“handful”), Icelandic handfylli (“handful”).

Phrases

  • have one's handful

Related words

Broader terms

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.