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handbreadth

noun

Etymology

Alteration (due to breadth) of Middle English handbrede, hondbrede (“handbreadth”); equivalent to hand + breadth. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Houndebratte (“handbreadth”), West Frisian hânbreedte (“handbreadth”), Dutch handbreedte (“handbreadth”), German Handbreite (“handbreadth”) and Handbreit, Swedish handsbredd (“handbreadth”), Norwegian håndsbredd (“handbreadth”), Icelandic handbreidd (“handbreadth”).

  1. derived from handbrede

Definitions

  1. A space equal to the breadth of the hand

    A space equal to the breadth of the hand; a palm.

    • Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth; and mine age is as nothing before thee:
    • […] I saw the library casement open a handbreadth; I knew I might be watched thence; so I went apart into the orchard.
    • She followed him into the scullery, and combed her hair before the handbreadth of mirror by the back door.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for handbreadth. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA