handlanger

== English == === Etymology === Borrowed from Afrikaans handlanger (“assistant, helper”), from Dutch handlanger (“accomplice, henchman; assistant, helper”), analyzable as hand (“hand”) + langen (“to hand over or pass to”) + -er (“-er”, agent suffix) (in the sense of someone who puts things into another person's hands), from German Handlanger (“handyman; henchman”), from Hand (“hand”) + langen (“to hand over, to give; to reach for something”) + -er (“-er”, agent suffix). === Pronunciation === (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈhændˌlæŋə/ Hyphenation: hand‧lang‧er === Noun === handlanger (plural handlangers) (South Africa) An unskilled assistant to an artisan. (South Africa, figuratively) An aide, an assistant. Alternative letter-case form of Handlanger. ==== Translations ==== === References === Jean Branford (1978), A Dictionary of South African English, Cape Town; New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, →ISBN. === Further reading === “handlanger”, in Collins English Dictionary. == Afrikaans == === Etymology === From Dutch handlanger, from German Handlanger. === Pronunciation === === Noun === handlanger (plural handlangers, diminutive handlangertjie) assistant, helper (one who aids) henchman, accomplice (one who is an enabler or accessory to a crime) ==== Descendants ==== → English: handlanger == Dutch == === Etymology === Borrowed from German Handlanger. Equivalent to hand +‎ langen +‎ -er. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈɦɑntˌlɑ.ŋər/ Hyphenation: hand‧lan‧ger === Noun === handlanger m (plural handlangers, diminutive handlangertje n) accomplice, henchman (one who assists in criminal or unethical activity) (now chiefly Suriname or Zeeland, otherwise dated) assistant; helper ==== Descendants ==== Afrikaans: handlanger → English: handlanger