handful

Pronunciation: /ˈhæn(d)fʊl/

The English word “handful” has 6 meanings listed here.

noun

The amount that a hand will grasp or contain.
A hand's breadth; four inches.
A small number, usually approximately five.
A group or number of things; a bunch.
Something which can only be managed with difficulty.
A five-year prison sentence.

Etymology

From Middle English handful, hondful, from Old English handfull (“handful”), from Proto-Germanic *handufullō, *handufulliz (“handful”), from Proto-Germanic *handuz (“hand”) + *fullaz (“full”); equivalent to hand + full (“fullness, plenty”) or hand + -ful. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Hondful (“handful”), West Frisian hânfol (“handful”), Dutch handvol (“handful”), German Handvoll (“handful”),…

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.