hand-grip 
The handle or handgrip (of a sword] will be of white 
shark's skin braided in gold. 
Sew York Semi-weekly Tribune, Aug. 16, 1887. 
3. Close grasp or struggle: commonly in the 
plural. 
To all it seems ... as if the last man of France, who 
could have swayed these coming troubles, lay there at 
hand-grips with the unearthly Power. 
Carlyle, French Rev., II. ill. 7. 
hand-gripe (hand'grip), . [< hand + gripe^. 
Of. hand-grip.'} Seizure with the hand; grip. 
Hee that both globes iu His own hand-gripe holds. 
Sylixster, Panaretus, 1. 1258. 
handgritht, [AS. handgrith, < hand, hand, + 
grith, peace.] In Anglo-Saxon law, peace or pro- 
tection granted by the kiug under his own hand. 
hand-guard (hand'gard), . That part of any 
weapon which guards or protects the hand, 
especially the vamplate of a lance. 
hand-guide (hand'gid), n. A mechanical con- 
trivance,. invented by Kalkbrenner, for assist- 
ing persons learning to play the pianoforte to 
acquire a proper position for their hands. Also 
called hand-director. 
hand-gunt (hand'gun), . The earliest kind of 
firearm, made to be carried by hand and fired 
either without a rest or supported on a fork. 
Compare hand-cannon. 
Cannons, demicannons, hand-gung, and muskets. 
Camden. 
Item, twentie handguns, . . . some of them with fire 
locks. Hakluyt's Voyages, I. 363. 
hand-gyve (hand'jiv), v. t. To shackle the 
hands of; manacle; fetter. [Rare.] 
A poor Legislative, so hard was fate, had let itself be 
hand-gyved. Carlyle, French Rev., III. i. 1. 
hand-hammer (hand'ham"er), . A single- 
handed working-hammer used by blacksmiths, 
machinists, and boiler-makers: in distinction 
from the two-handed hammer, or sledge. 
hand-harmonica (haud'har-mon"i-kii), . An 
accordion. 
hand-heat (hand'het), . The natural tempera- 
ture of the hand. 
An important feature is the temperature at which cot- 
ton is dyed. In the majority of cases it is worked in the 
cold, or at a hand-heat, i. e., at about 90' to 100' F. 
Workshop Receipts, 2d ser., p. 222. 
handhold (hand'hold), n. 1. Hold or grasp 
with the hand. Compare foothold, 1. 
With my face to the rock I found my hand-holds and 
foot-holds down uncanny places. 
The Advance, July 21, 1887. 
2. The handle of an anglers' rod, formed by that 
part of the butt which is just above the reel : it 
is often wrapped with velvet, ratan, or cord. 
hand-hole (haud'hol), n. A hole into which 
the hand may be inserted, as one near the bot- 
tom of a steam-boiler, designed to be used in 
cleaning the boiler, etc. It is closed by a plate. 
In tubular boilers the hand-holes should be often opened. 
Sri. Amur., N. 8., LIV. 20. 
hand-hook (hand'hiik), . A tool used l>y 
smiths in twisting bars of iron. 
handicap (han'di-kap), . and a. [Formerly 
also handycap, handycappe; appar. < hand i' 
cap (hand in cap), prob. with ref. to the draw- 
ing of lots.] I. . If. An old game at cards, 
not unlike loo. 
To the Miter Taverne in Woodstreete. . . . Here some 
of us fell to handycappe, a sport that I never knew before. 
Pepys, Diary, Sept. 18, 1060. 
2. In racing and athletics, an extra burden placed 
upon, or a special requirement made of, a supe- 
rior competitor iu favor of an inferior, in order 
to make their chances more equal. In a horse- 
race the handicap is usually an additional weight to be car- 
ried by the better horse ; in a foot-race, jumping-match, 
etc., a shorter time, greater distance, or the like, for the 
superior contestant. The amount of the handicap is ad- 
justed in accordance with the performance of the com- 
petitors in previous contests ; and in horse-racing regard 
is had also to the age, sex, and height of the horses. The 
principle is applied in other contests of agility or skill : 
thus, in draughts, a superior player is handicapped if he 
plays against an unskilful or inexperienced player with 
eleven men to the latter's twelve. 
3. A race in which the supposed superiority of 
certain competitors is counterbalanced by pen- 
alties of additional weight, distance, or time 
imposed on them, or the inferiority of others 
is compensated by a certain amount of time or 
distance granted them in starting ; any contest 
or competition in which an allowance of time 
or distance or other advantage is given to an in- 
ferior competitor : as, the Newmarket handicap. 
The race . . . showed a heavy entry ; . . . public run- 
ners were heavily weighted; the nominations included 
many horses that had never been out before. In one way 
and another the United Service handicap had grown into 
the event of the meeting. Whyte Melville, Satanella, lU. 
2704 
II. a. Noting a contest in which certain com- 
petitors are handicapped : as, a handicap race 
or game. 
handicap (han'di-kap), v. t. ; pret. and pp. han- 
dicapped, ppr. handicapping, [< handicap, .] 
1 . To impose, as upon a competitor in a race 
or other contest, some disadvantage, such as a 
penalty of additional weight or distance or an 
allowance of a start or other advantage to an 
opponent. 
The Buckskin Horse . . . was handicapped at 250 pounds 
for the weight of wagon and driver. 
Sew York Tribune, June 13, 1862. 
2. Figuratively, to place at a disadvantage by 
the imposition of any embarrassment, impedi- 
ment, or disability : as, handicapped by age, by 
inexperience, etc. 
The tenant is so heavily handicapped that he has no 
chance iu the race. The Nation, July 1, 1875, p. 7. 
An abnormal power of ratiocination, and a prosaic re 
gard for details, have handicapped him from the beginning. 
Stedman, Viet. Poets, p. 301. 
Art In the old world is handicapped more or less by its 
own perfection. A. A. Ken., CXLL 284. 
handicapper (han'di-kap-er), n. One who han- 
dicaps ; one employed to determine the amount 
of the handicaps in a contest. 
Each competitor is allowed by the official handicapper 
of the N. C. U. a certain number of yards start, according 
to the nature of his public performances. 
Bury and Hillier, Cycling, p. 41. 
handicraft (han'di-kraft), n. and a. [Formerly 
also handt/craft; a corruption, by confusion 
with handiwork, of the earlier handicraft, q. v.] 
I. n. 1. Manual labor; hand-work in general. 
The full citizens, having become rich, only carried on 
trade, whilst the handicraft was left exclusively to the 
poor and the unfree. 
English Gilds (E. E. T. S.), Int., p. cvii. 
Specifically 2. Skilled labor with the hands; 
manual skill or expertness. 
I 'in Element, of Instruments the haft : 
The Tool of Tools, and Hand of Handy-Craft. 
Sylvester, tr. of Du Bartas's Weeks, ii., The Handy-Crafts. 
Monuments are either works of Art or works of Haruli- 
craft. Art is either Constructive or Imitative ; Handi- 
craft, either Useful or Decorative. 
C. T. Newton, Art and Arclueol., p. 17. 
3. A manual employment or calling; a me- 
chanical trade. 
John Speed was born at Farrington in this county, as his 
own daughter hath informed me. He was first bred to a 
handicraft, and, as I take it, to a taylor. 
Fuller, Worthies, Cheshire. 
Anatomy, which is my handicraft, is one of the most dif- 
ficult kinds of mechanical labour. 
Huxley, Tech. Education. 
4. A handicraftsman. [Rare.] 
The nurseries of children of ordinary gentlemen and 
haiuticrafts are managed in the same manner. Swift. 
Thou knowest . . . that we handicrafts best love the 
folks we live by. Scott, Fair Maid of Perth, vi. 
II. a. Belonging to a manual trade or me- 
chanical art. 
handicraftsman (han'di-krafts-man), n.; pi. 
handicraftsmen (-men). A man skilled in some 
special manual work; one who gets his living 
by a manual trade ; an artisan ; a mechanic. 
Geo. miserable age ! Virtue is not regarded in handi- 
crafts-men. 
John. The nobility think scorn to go in leather aprons. 
Shot., 2 Hen. VI., iv. 2. 
The Handicraftsmen have not Money to set themselves 
to work. Dampier, Voyages, II. i. 41. 
The followers of Caxton were for nearly two centuries 
principally mere handicraftsmen. 
G. P. Marsh, Lects. on Eng. Lang., xx. 
handicuff (han'di-kuf), n. [Usually in pi. han- 
dicuffs, < hand + cuffl, a blow ; the i is inserted, 
as in fisticuffs, appar. by association with han- 
dicraft.] A blow or cuff with the hand. Also 
spelled handycuff. 
' Though they owed each other a spight, and had both 
pretty high spirits, yet they never came to handycuffs. 
Arouthnot, Misc. Works (1751), L 103. 
handily (han'di-li), adv. In a handy or expert 
manner. 
When I see women split wood, unload coal-carts, move 
wash-tubs, and roll barrels of flour and apples handily 
down cellarways or up into carts, then I shall believe in 
the sublime theories of the strong-minded sisters. 
R. T. Cooke, Somebody's Neighbors, p. 42. 
handiness (han'di-nes), n. 1. The state or 
character of being handy or expert. 
He had a certain tact, . . . which, in connection with 
his handiness and his orderly ways, caused him at last to 
become a prime favorite with her. 
H. B. Stowe, Oldtown, p. 252. 
The boy made his own traps and small tools and carts, 
and early learned that handiness and adaptability without 
which he would be likely to go through life in a destitute 
condition. H. E. Scudder, Noah Webster, p. 14. 
handle 
2. Manageableness ; convenience; suitable- 
ness. 
Whether improvement is to be in the direction of twin 
screws, steam steerers, or other agencies, it is certain that 
handiness must increase greatly in modern men-of-war, 
if the ram and torpedo are to be elements in naval war- 
fare. Luce, Seamanship, p. 574. 
A signal of great power, handiness, and economy [is] 
thus placed at the service of our mariners. 
Pop. Set. Mo., XIII. 286. 
handiront, . Same as niidirtm. 
handiwork (han'di-werk), . [Formerly also 
liinidyirorfc; < ME. handiwerk, lumdi HV/T, lioiuli- 
itt-rk, linitdiwerc, < AS. liandgeweorc (= OS. l/iu/i/- 
giwerk), work of the hand, < hand, hand, + ge- 
weorc, weorc, work (collectively), < ge-, a col- 
lective prefix (see -t- 1 ), + weorc, work. Cf. 
hand-work.] 1. Work done by the hands, and 
hence by effort of any kind; doing; perform- 
ance: as, a specimen of one's handiwork; the 
devil's handiwork. 
Celsus . . . thought so great a vessel! was too great for 
mans handyworke. Purcliax, Pilgrimage, p. 39. 
The want of technical knowledge in the fisherman's 
craft and in the various handiworks connected with it. 
Harper's Mag., LXXVIII. 201. 
2. That which is done or made by the hands, 
or by any active exertion ; a fabrication ; a 
creation. 
Vile as I am, and of myself abhorr'd, 
I am thy handy-work, thy creature, Lord. 
Quarles, Emblems, iii. 10. 
Our life is only drest 
For show : mean handiwork of craftsman, cook, 
Or groom ! Wordsworth, London, September, 1802. 
handjar (han'jar), n. [Ar. khanjar, a dagger.] 
A kind of sword. See the second extract. 
Armed with all the weapons of Palikari, handjars and 
yataghans. Disraeli, Lothair, Ixxiii. 
A handjar, or broad-bladed, leaf-shaped sword, very 
similar to the ancient Spanish weapon adopted by the 
Roman soldiery, or resembling perhaps still more those 
bronze weapons found upon the old battle-fields of Greece 
and within early Celtic barrows. These weapons they 
[Caucasian soldiers] are accustomed to use as projectiles. 
O'Donoean, Merv, ii. 
handkercher(hang'ker-cher),. [A corrupt ion 
of handkerchief.] A handkerchief. [Obsolete 
or vulgar.] 
Did your brother tell you how I counterfeited to sound, 
when he showed me your handkercher? 
Shak., As you Like it, v. 2. 
Now out comes all the tassell'd handkercher*. 
Middleton, Chaste Maid, Hi. 2. 
At their girdles they wear long handkerchers, some of 
them admirable for value and workmanship. 
Sandys, Travailes, p. 50. 
handkerchief (hang'ker-chif), . [< hand + 
kerchief. This compound is fused by the or- 
dinary pronunciation (like its second element 
kerchief) into one word, without regard to its 
original elements ; hence the compound neck- 
handkerchief (as well as neckerchief), a curious 
cumulation of terms for the neck, hand, and 
head. ] 1 . A square piece of cloth, usually linen 
or silk, carried about the person for the pur- 
pose of wiping the face or nose. Silk handker- 
chiefs embroidered and fringed, or laced with gold, are 
mentioned as early as the reign of Queen Elizabeth, and 
the modern lace handkerchief has often but a very small 
center-piece of solid or plain material. 
From his body were brought unto the sick handker- 
chiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them. 
Acts xix. 12. 
And away he went, the King following him to a Riuer, 
ouer which Dauid, stretching his hand-ker chief e, passed 
ouer. Purchas, Pilgrimage, p. 159. 
He did complain his head did ake ; 
Her handkerchief she then took out, 
And tied the same his head about. 
The Suffolk Miracle (Child's Ballads, I. 220). 
2. A neckcloth; a neckerchief. [Colloq.] 
handkerchief (hang'ker-chif). v. i. f< hand- 
kerchief, w.] To use a handkerchief; make 
signals with a handkerchief. [Rare.] 
The servants entering with the dinner, we hemmed, 
handkerchiefed, twinkled, took up our knives and forks. 
Richardson, Sir Charles Grandison, II. 180. 
hand-languaget (hand'lang'gwaj), n. The art 
of conversing by motions or signs made with 
the hands or fingers ; sign-language ; dactylol- 
ogy. See deaf-mute. 
hand-lathe (hand'laTH), n. 1. A small lathe, 
generally portable, secured to a bench or table, 
and worked by a bow or a 
crank, used by watch-mak- 
ers, dentists, etc. 2. A bar- 
lathe with puppets sliding 
on a prismatic bar. 
handle (han'dl), . ; pret. 
and pp. handled, ppr. bun- 
dling. [< ME. handlen, < AS. 
handlian, handle, feel (== D. Hand-iathe (drf. i>. 
