Source etymology 1
Original entry ↗Easy to use, useful. · Nearby, within reach. · Dexterous, skilful. (of a person) · Physically violent; tending to use one's fists.
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”).
Relationships mentioned by the source
These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.
- Inherited-form mentionhandyenm
- Inherited-form mention*hendiġang · skillful
- Inherited-form mention*handīggmw-pro
- Inherited-form mention*handugazgem-pro · handy, skillful, nimble
- Cognate mentionjäntichstq · handy
- Cognate mentionhandichgml
- Cognate mentionhandecgmh
- Cognate mentionhǫndugrnon
- Cognate mention𐌷𐌰𐌽𐌳𐌿𐌲𐍃got
- Cognate mentionhandignl
- Cognate mentionhendigno
- Cognate mentionhändigsv
This page abbreviates 1 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.
Inspect preserved source fields
Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.
{
"templates": [
{
"name": "inh",
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"3": "handy"
},
"expansion": "Middle English handy"
},
{
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"3": "*hendiġ",
"t": "skillful"
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},
{
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"3": "*handīg"
},
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},
{
"name": "inh",
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"t": "handy, skillful, nimble"
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},
{
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"t": "handy"
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"expansion": "Saterland Frisian jäntich (“handy”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "gml",
"2": "handich",
"3": "",
"4": "skillful, apt"
},
"expansion": "Middle Low German handich (“skillful, apt”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
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"2": "handec"
},
"expansion": "Middle High German handec"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "non",
"2": "hǫndugr",
"3": "",
"4": "efficient"
},
"expansion": "Old Norse hǫndugr (“efficient”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "got",
"2": "𐌷𐌰𐌽𐌳𐌿𐌲𐍃",
"3": "",
"4": "wise, clever"
},
"expansion": "Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐌽𐌳𐌿𐌲𐍃 (handugs, “wise, clever”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
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"3": "",
"4": "handy"
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"expansion": "Dutch handig (“handy”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
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"3": "",
"4": "handy"
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"expansion": "Norwegian hendig (“handy”)"
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"name": "cog",
"args": {
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"2": "händig",
"3": "",
"4": "handy"
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"expansion": "Swedish händig (“handy”)"
}
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[
"handy",
"handy#Middle_English"
],
[
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"hondi#Middle_English"
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[
"hendi",
"hendi#Middle_English"
],
[
"*hendiġ",
"Reconstruction:Old English/hendig"
],
[
"listhendiġ",
"listhendig#Old_English"
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[
"*handīg",
"Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/handīg"
],
[
"*handag",
"Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/handag"
],
[
"*handug",
"Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/handug"
],
[
"*handugaz",
"Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/handugaz"
],
[
"*handuz",
"Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/handuz"
],
[
"hand",
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[
"-y",
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[
"jäntich",
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[
"handich",
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],
[
"handec",
"handec#Middle_High_German"
],
[
"hendec",
"hendec#Middle_High_German"
],
[
"hǫndugr",
"hǫndugr#Old_Norse"
],
[
"𐌷𐌰𐌽𐌳𐌿𐌲𐍃",
"𐌷𐌰𐌽𐌳𐌿𐌲𐍃#Gothic"
],
[
"handig",
"handig#Dutch"
],
[
"hendig",
"hendig#Norwegian"
],
[
"händig",
"händig#Swedish"
]
],
"references": [],
"descendants": [],
"lexical": [
{
"pos": "adj",
"glosses": [
"Easy to use, useful.",
"Nearby, within reach.",
"Dexterous, skilful. (of a person)",
"Physically violent; tending to use one's fists."
],
"tags": [
"slang"
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