handful

§English

§Alternative forms

• handfull (archaic)

§Etymology

From Middle English, from Old English handful (“handful”), from Proto-Germanic *handfullą, *handfullō, *handfulljô (“handful”), from Proto-Germanic *handuz (“hand”), *fullaz (“full”), equivalent to hand +‎ full (“fullness, plenty”). Cognate with West Frisian hânfol (“handful”), Dutch handvol (“handful”), Danish håndfuld (“handful”), Swedish handfull (“handful”), Icelandic handfylli (“handful”).

§Pronunciation

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• IPA^(key): /ˈhæn(d)fʊl/

§Noun

handful (plural handfuls or handsful)

1. The amount that a hand will grasp or contain.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Joseph Addison to this entry?)

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.

   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 (buṙ)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 滿手 (zh), 满手 (zh) (mǎnshoǔ)

• Czech: hrst (cs) f
• Danish: håndfuld c
• Dutch: handvol (nl) n
• Esperanto: plenmano
• Finnish: kourallinen (fi)
• French: poignée (fr) f
• German: Handvoll (de) f
• Greek: χούφτα (el) f (choúfta)
• Hungarian: marék (hu), maréknyi, marok (hu), maroknyi (hu)
• Indonesian: segenggam
• Irish: crág f
• Italian: manciata (it), pugno (it), manipolo (it) m
• Japanese: 一握り (ひとにぎり, hitonigiri), 一掴み (ひとつかみ, hitotsukami)
• Jèrriais: pouongnie f
• Korean: 한 줌 (han jum)
• Latgalian: sauve
• Latvian: sauja

• Macedonian: гр́ст m (gŕst)
• Maori: kutanga, kapuranga
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: håndfull m, handfull m

  Nynorsk: handfull f

• Polish: garść (pl) f
• Portuguese: punhado (pt) m, mancheia (pt) f
• Romanian: mănunchi (ro)
• Russian: горсть (ru) f (gorstʹ), при́горшня (ru) f (prígoršnja), жме́ня (ru) f (žménja)
• Scots: haundfu, luiffu, nievefu
• Scottish Gaelic: làn cròige f
• Shan: ယွပ်း (jɔp4)
• Slovak: hrsť f, hŕstka f
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: gjarsć f

• Spanish: manojo (es) m, puñado (es) m
• Swedish: handfull (sv) c, näve (sv) c
• Thai: หยิบมือเดียว (yib mue diew) (figurative, idiomatic)
• Ukrainian: жме́ня f (žménja)
• Zulu: isandla (zu) class 7/8, ukhweshe (zu) class 11/10

breadth of hand

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

• Italian: manipolo (it), gruppetto, pugno (it)
• Macedonian: гр́ст m (gŕst)
• Portuguese: palmo m

small quantity

• Armenian: բուռ (buṙ)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 少數 (zh), 少数 (zh) (shǎoshù)

• Danish: håndfuld c
• Dutch: handvol (nl) n, beetje (nl) n
• Finnish: kourallinen (fi)
• French: poignée (fr) f
• German: Handvoll (de) f
• Greek: χούφτα (el) f (choúfta)
• Indonesian: segenggam
• Italian: manciata (it) f, pugno (it) m, manipolo (it)
• Japanese: 少数 (ja) (しょうすう, shōsū)

• Jèrriais: pouongnie f
• Macedonian: гр́ст m (gŕst)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: håndfull m, handfull m

  Nynorsk: handfull f

• Polish: garść (pl) f, garstka (pl) f
• Portuguese: punhado (pt) m
• Russian: го́рстка (ru) f (górstka), горсть (ru) f (gorstʹ)
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: gjarsć f, gjarstka f

• Swedish: handfull (sv)
• Venetian: grop (vec) m

handled with difficulty

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

• Polish: trudne do zniesienia
• Venetian: slandron m, desvià m

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: ^{(please verify)} knyttneve m (breadth of hand)

• Spanish: ^{(please verify)} puñado m, ^{(please verify)} manojo m, ^{(please verify)} poca cantidad f