Handful

English

Etymology

From Old English handfull.

Pronunciation

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Noun

Singular Handful

Plural {{{1}}}

Handful ({{{1}}})

1. As much as the hand will grasp or contain. - Joseph Addison
2. (obsolete) A hand's breadth; four inches.

   Knap the tongs together about a handful from the bottom. - Francis Bacon

3. A small quantity, usually approximately equal to five, the number of fingers on a hand.

   This handful of men were tied to very hard duty. - Fuller

4. Something which can only be managed with difficulty.

   Those twins are a real handful to look after.

Synonyms

• (content of a hand) fistful
• handbreadth, handsbreadth

Derived terms

• To have one's handful: (Obsolete): to have one's hands full; to have all one can do.

  They had their handful to defend themselves from firing. - Sir Walter Raleigh

Related terms

• handgrip
• handhold

Translations

amount held in hand

Armenian: բուռ hy(hy) (buṙ) Czech: hrst cs(cs) f. Danish: håndfuld da(da) c. Dutch: handvol n. Finnish: kourallinen fi(fi) French: poignée fr(fr) f. Greek: χούφτα el(el) (choúfta) f. Hungarian: marék hu(hu), maréknyi hu(hu), marok hu(hu), maroknyi hu(hu) Indonesian: segenggam

Italian: manciata it(it), pugno it(it) Macedonian: грст mk(mk) (g'rst) m. Norwegian: håndfull no(no) m. Polish: garść pl(pl) f. Romanian: mănunchi ro(ro) Russian: горсть ru(ru) (gorst') f., пригоршня ru(ru) (prigoršn'a) f. Spanish: manojo es(es) m., puñado es(es) m. Swedish: handfull sv(sv) c.

breadth of hand

Danish: håndsbred da(da) c. Dutch: handbreed n., handbreedte French: manipule fr(fr)

Italian: manipolo it(it), gruppetto it(it), pugno it(it) Macedonian: грст mk(mk) (g'rst) m.

small quantity

Armenian: բուռ hy(hy) (buṙ) Danish: håndfuld da(da) c. Dutch: handvol n., beetje n. Finnish: kourallinen fi(fi) French: poignée fr(fr) f. Greek: χούφτα el(el) (choúfta) f.

Indonesian: segenggam Italian: manciata it(it) f., pugno it(it) m., manipolo it(it) Macedonian: грст mk(mk) (g'rst) m. Norwegian: håndfull no(no) m. Polish: garść pl(pl) f. Russian: горстка ru(ru) (górstka) f.

handled with difficulty

Dutch: handenbinder m., lastpost Italian: indisciplinato it(it), irrequieto it(it), birichino it(it)

Polish: trudne do zniesienia pl(pl)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

Norwegian: knyttneve no(no) m. (breadth of hand)

Spanish: puñado m., manojo m., poca cantidad f.

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