handsel, hansel, hansele, hansell

& a. [A. S. handselen a delivery into the hand, from hand =hand, and sellen to give, to deliver; Icel. handsal =a making of a bargain by joining of hands: hand hand, and sal a sale, a bargain; Dan. handsel; Sw. handsol.] A. As subst.: A gift, an earnest or earnest-penny: the first money received in the morning for the sale of goods; the first present sent to a young woman on her wedding-day; the first act of using anything; the first act of sale, . "The apostles term it the pledge of our inheritance, and the handsel or earnest of that which is to come." Hooker: Eccles . Polity . B. As adj .: Used or enjoyed for the first time; newly acquired or inherited. *hansel-Monday, s. An old name for the first Monday of the New Year, when presents were commonly asked and received by servants, children, . hănd-sel, hăn'-sel, *han-sle, v . t . [HANDSEL, s.] 1. To give a handsel to. 2. To use for the first time. "In timorous deer he handsels his young paws." Cowley. 3. To try experimentally; to make experiments on; to try. "And hansling Rome with heresies." Warner: Albions' England , bk. xii., ch. 75. sin, as; expect, Xenophon, exist. ph = f. a handle. The jaws are moved by a thumb-screw. It is also known as a tail - vise . When of peculiar forms, these implements have names indicative of their shape; as, dog -nose, pig -nose, hand -vise, cro - chap vise . hănd-wõrk, s. [Eng. hand , and work .] Work done by the hands; handiwork. hănd-work, v. t. [Eng. hand , and work .] To work. make, mold, or fashion with the hands. *hand-write, v . t . & i. [Eng, hand , and write .] A. Trans .: To write out with the hand; to expre in writing or manuscript. 1. The form, style, or cast of writing peculiar to each person or hand; chirography. 2. That which is written by hand; a manuscript. "Your own handwriting would tell you what I think." Shakesp.: Comedy of Errors, iii. 1. The handwriting on the wall : An omen of dis- aster. It was at the feast of Belshazzar (Daniel v. 5) that the mysterious writing on the wall took place. hănď'-ỹ, *hănd-ie, *hende, a . [A. S. gehende = near, from hand =hand; Goth., Dan. & Sw.handig .] 1. Near, close, or ready to the hand. "Nade his helf hende ben." *2. Executed or performed by the hand. "He was wont with hys handie labor, to fynde bot he hymselfe and also al his poore housholde."- Udall : Mark iii. 3. Dexterous; skillful; skilled in using the hands or in handiwork. 4. Convenient. handy-billy, s. Naut .: A small jigger purchase used particularly in tops or the holds, for a isting in hoisting when weak-handed. IMG:content-0958.png:[blocks in formation] IMG:content-0959.png:[blocks in formation] over, the expre ion handy - dandy occurs; sleight of hand. Shakespeare alludes to this game when he makes handy - dandy =an ironical expre ion of doubt. "Change places; and, handy - dandy , which is the justice, which is the thief?"- Shakesp .: Lear , iv. 6. *hand-y-blow, s . [English handy , and blow .] A blow or stroke with the hand; hence, close quarters. "If ever they came to handy blows." -Knolles: Hist . of the Turks. hănd-y-stroke, s. [Eng. handy , and stroke .] A stroke or blow with the hand. hănd-ý-wõrk, s . [HANDIWORK.] Hăn-e-fites, s . pl . [Named after Abn Hanifa, in the eighth century.] Religions: A Mohammedan sect, a branch of the 1. To suspend; to fasten so as to depend or besus- pended from some elevated point. (In this sense the pa. t. now used is hung .) "Over my altars hath he hung his lance." Shakesp.: Venus and Adonis , 103. 2. To put to death by suspending by the neck (in this sense the pa. t. is properly hanged , but hung is also vulgarly used.) "Several of these he hanged as soon as he reached Taun- ton."- Macaulay : Hist . Eng , ch. v. "[Thou] hung'st the solid earth in fleeting air." Sandys: Paraphrase of the Psalms. 4. To fix so as to be movable upon the points of suspension; to fasten so as to allow of free motion upon a fixed point or points; said of a gate, door, . IMG:content-0960.png:[blocks in formation] IMG:content-0961.png:[blocks in formation] (1) Lit .: To loiter, to loaf, to lounge. (2) Fig .: To hover about, to be attached to. "Sundry ble ings hang about his throne." Shakesp.: Macbeth , iv. 3. 5. To hang in chains : To suspend the body of a malefactor, who has been executed by hanging, in an iron framework or cage. The earliest instance of hanging in chains is said to have occurred in 1381, and the practice continued till 1833 or 1834. ( Eng .) 6. To hang on or upon : (1) Ordinary Language : (a) To adhere to, to be attached to, to depend on. "Syllogisms hang not on my tongue." Cowper : Conversation , 93. (b) To be a weight or drag on; to be tedious or importunate. "Life hangs upon me and becomes a burden." Add is on: Cato , iii. 1. marine; gō, põt, The American Dictionary and Cyclopedia IMG:content-0963.png:[blocks in formation] hang up a question. hăng, s. [HANG, V.] I. Ordinary Language: 1. Literally : *(1) A slope, a declivity; the slope or gradient of a road. (2) The mode in which one part or one thing is connected with another; as, the hang of a scythe. 2. Figuratively : (1) The general tendency, drift, or bent; as, of a discourse. (2) To get the hang of : To acquire the knack of doing anything; to familiarize. II. Ship build .: The concave curvature on the downward edge of a plank or strake when bent to the frames of a ship. A curve in the reverse direction is called a sny (q. v.). hang-dog, 8. & a. A. As subst .: A low, mean, base fellow, fit only to be the hangman of curs. "Heaven has inspired me with one of the most admirable inventions to be revenged on my hang-dog."Fielding: Mock Doctor , i. 4. B. As adj .: Low, degraded, sullen; as, a hang dog look.