Dictionary.com

handsel

or han·sel

[ han-suhl ]
/ ˈhæn səl /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR handsel ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a gift or token for good luck or as an expression of good wishes, as at the beginning of the new year or when entering upon a new situation or enterprise.
a first installment of payment.
the initial experience of anything; first encounter with or use of something taken as a token of what will follow; foretaste.

verb (used with object), hand·seled, hand·sel·ing or (especially British) hand·selled, hand·sel·ling.

to give a handsel to.
to inaugurate auspiciously.
to use, try, or experience for the first time.

QUIZZES

BEAT THE DOLDRUMS WITH THIS WORD OF THE DAY QUIZ!

We know you’ll tackle this quiz totis viribus! See how many words from the week of Oct 12–18, 2020 you get right!
Question 1 of 7
What does “Indigenous” mean?
characterized by cleverness or originality of invention or construction.
carried on abroad, or with other countries.
relating to or being a people who are the original, earliest known inhabitants of a region, or are their descendants.
TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of handsel

First recorded before 1050; Middle English handselne “good-luck token, good-will gift,” Old English handselen “manumission,” literally “hand-gift” (see hand, sell1); cognate with Danish handsel, “earnest money.” The Middle English word was influenced by Old Norse handsal “hand-shake, hand-clasp (for sealing a purchase or a promise).”

OTHER WORDS FROM handsel

un·hand·seled; (especially British) un·hand·selled, adjective

Words nearby handsel

hand's-breadth, Hand-Schüller-Christian disease, hand screw, hand scroll, hands-down, handsel, handset, hand setting, handsew, handsewn, handsfree
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to handsel

allowance, alms, award, benefaction, benefit, bequest, bestowal, bonus, boon, bounty, charity, contribution, courtesy, dispensation, donation, endowment, favor, grant, gratuity, hand

Example sentences from the Web for handsel

British Dictionary definitions for handsel

handsel

hansel

archaic, or dialect

noun

a gift for good luck at the beginning of a new year, new venture, etc

verb -sels, -selling or -selled or US -sels, -seling or -seled (tr)

to give a handsel to (a person)
to begin (a venture) with ceremony; inaugurate

Word Origin for handsel

Old English handselen delivery into the hand; related to Old Norse handsal promise sealed with a handshake, Swedish handsöl gratuity; see hand, sell
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012