handy

== English == === Etymology 1 === From Middle English handy, hondi (attested in personal names), alteration of earlier hendi (“handy, skillful”), from Old English *hendiġ (“skillful”) (attested in listhendiġ (“skilled in art”)), from Proto-West Germanic *handīg, *handag, *handug, from Proto-Germanic *handugaz (“handy, skillful, nimble”), from *handuz (“hand”), equivalent to hand +‎ -y. Cognate with Saterland Frisian jäntich (“handy”), Middle Low German handich (“skillful, apt”), Middle High German handec, hendec (“manual, hand-held”), Old Norse hǫndugr (“efficient”), Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐌽𐌳𐌿𐌲𐍃 (handugs, “wise, clever”). Akin to Dutch handig (“handy”), Norwegian hendig (“handy”), Swedish händig (“handy”). ==== Alternative forms ==== hendy (obsolete or dialectal) ==== Pronunciation ==== enPR: hăn'di, IPA(key): /ˈhæn.di/ Rhymes: -ændi ==== Adjective ==== handy (comparative handier, superlative handiest) Easy to use, useful. Nearby, within reach. Synonyms: at hand, on hand, to hand Dexterous, skilful. (of a person) Synonym: crafty (slang) Physically violent; tending to use one's fists. Of a freight ship: having a small cargo capacity (less than 40,000 DWT); belonging to the handysize class. ===== Antonyms ===== awkward ===== Derived terms ===== ===== Translations ===== ===== References ===== “handy”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC. William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “handy”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC. “handy”, in OneLook Dictionary Search. === Etymology 2 === From hand +‎ -y (diminutive suffix). ==== Noun ==== handy (plural handies) (childish) The hand. Alternative form: handie ===== Related terms ===== === Etymology 3 === Clipping of handgun and hand job followed by -y (diminutive suffix). ==== Noun ==== handy (plural handies) (MLE, slang) A handgun. (vulgar, slang) A hand job. Alternative form: handie Synonym: wristy ===== Translations ===== === Etymology 4 === Disputed; see German Handy: according to some commentators, this meaning is originally from German (a condensed form of Handfunktelefon), whereas others claim there was an early, but now neglected, antetype of it in English (from etymology 1). ==== Noun ==== handy (plural handies) (mostly used by Germans) Synonym of mobile phone. ===== Descendants ===== →? German: Handy ===== Translations ===== === Anagrams === Haydn == Scots == === Adjective === handy (comparative handier, superlative handiest) handy dexterous, skilful amenable (of an animal)