handsel

hand·sel

H h

Transcription

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- UK Pronunciation
- UK IPA
- [han-suh l]
- /ˈhæn səl/
- /ˈhænd.səl/

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [han-suh l]
- /ˈhæn səl/

Definitions of handsel word

noun handsel 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. 1
noun handsel a first installment of payment. 1
noun handsel the initial experience of anything; first encounter with or use of something taken as a token of what will follow; foretaste. 1
verb with object handsel to give a handsel to. 1
verb with object handsel to inaugurate auspiciously. 1
verb with object handsel to use, try, or experience for the first time. 1

See all 22 definitions of handsel

Information block about the term

Origin of handsel

First appearance:

before 1050

One of the 6% oldest English words

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

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Handsel

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

Full grammatical hierarchy of Handsel

handsel popularity

A pretty common term. Usually people know it’s meaning, but prefer to use a more spread out synonym. About 65% of English native speakers know the meaning and use word.

According to our data most of word are more popular. This word is almost not used. It has a much more popular synonym.

handsel usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

Synonyms for handsel

noun handsel

allowance — An allowance is money that is given to someone, usually on a regular basis, in order to help them pay for the things that they need.
alms — Alms are gifts of money, clothes, or food to poor people.
award — An award is a prize or certificate that a person is given for doing something well.
benefaction — the act of doing good, esp by giving a donation to charity
benefit — The benefit of something is the help that you get from it or the advantage that results from it.

All 28 Synonyms of handsel