handfuln.
/ˈhan(d)fʊl/, U.S. /ˈhæn(d)ˌfʊl/α. Old English handfull- (inflected form), Old English– handful, early Middle English hanndfull ( Ormulum), Middle English hamful, Middle English handfulle, Middle English hanffull, Middle English hanfol, Middle English hanful, Middle English hanfull, Middle English–1500s handefulle, Middle English–1600s handeful, Middle English–1600s handefull, Middle English–1700s handfull, 1500s handfoll, 1900s– handfa (Northumberland); Scottish pre-1700 handfull, pre-1700 1700s– handful, 1700s– handfu', 1800s haandfoo (Shetland), 1800s han'fu', 1800s– hanfu', 1800s– haunfu', 1900s– hanfoo (northern), 1900s– hanndfoo (Shetland), 1900s– haunfu, 1900s– haunful.
β. Old English–Middle English hondful, early Middle English hontful, Middle English hondfull, Middle English honful, Middle English hoonful.
1. A quantity that fills the hand; as much or many of something as the hand can hold or contain.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > measurement > the scientific measurement of volume > measure(s) of capacity > amount defined by capacity > [noun] > amount that fills part of body > hand
handfuleOE
gripc1000
hand-lifting1362
nieveful?a1425
gripe1570
maniple1598
fistful1611
fascicule1699
gripeful1727
palmful1812
lift1871
mittful1918
eOE Bald's Leechbk. (Royal) (1865) i. ii. 38 Wiþ þiccum bræwum genim þreo handfulla mucwyrte.
OE Old Eng. Hexateuch: Lev. (Claud.) ii. 2 Nime heora an ane handfulle [L. pugillum] smedeman.
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 8648 Nafe icc nohht off mete kinn..Wiþþ utenn mele alls itt beo rihht. An hanndfull inn an fetless.
?a1200 (?OE) Peri Didaxeon (1896) 11 Nim rudan ane handfulle.
c1330 (?c1300) Speculum Guy (Auch.) (1898) l. 975 (MED) Bred haue i non, Ne noht..But an handful mele in o picher And a litel oyle.
c1400 Brut (Rawl. B. 171) 179 Þe noble burgeys..cast out at her wyndowes golde and siluer handes-ful.
c1475 ( Surg. Treat. in MS Wellcome 564 f. 119 (MED) Also take summe or alle of þe colde herbis bifore rehersid, of ech an handful.
1526 Treasure of Pore Men f. xviii Take two handes full of Comyn & stampe it to powder & boyle it in wyne.
1555 R. Eden tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde f. 242 The negros or blacke Moores..gaue golde by hole handefuls.
1600 W. Shakespeare Midsummer Night's Dream iv. i. 36 I had rather haue a handfull, or two of dryed pease. View more context for this quotation
1651 R. Elkes Approved Med. of Little Cost i. 2 When they had fish or flesh boiled, he would cast into the boiler, a handfull of Oaken leaves.
1683 in Pennsylvania Arch. (1852) I. 64 20 handsfuls of Wampum.
1720 D. Defoe Life Capt. Singleton 166 There are several People among these Hutts that would..give you a Handful of Gold Dust or a Handful of Cowries.
1770 J. Langhorne & W. Langhorne tr. Plutarch Lives (1879) II. 727/2 Throwing incense into the fire by handsful.
1827 W. Scott Jrnl. 15 May (1941) 52 I have a guess the best gamecocks would call a truce if a handful or two of oats were scattered among them.
1871 B. Jowett tr. Plato Dialogues I. 50 To throw in salt by handfuls.
1921 E. O'Neill Different 544 He takes a handful of almonds from his pocket and begins cracking and eating.
1986 D. Prater Ringing Glass ii. 63 He..stooped now and then to gather great handfuls from the carpet of forget-me-nots.
2009 Olive Sept. 17/3 Put a handful of ice into a shaker with 30ml of bourbon, 20ml of Chambord and 15 ml of lemon juice.
2. A bundle of sticks, rods, stalks, etc., esp. one that can be carried in the hand or under the arm; spec. a bundle or sheaf of wheat or similar crop. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > state of being gathered together > an assemblage or collection > [noun] > bundle
sheafc725
handfulOE
truss12..
knitch13..
binding1388
bundle1398
faggot1447
bond1483
flaggat1487
bend-fulc1500
litch1538
thrave1606
fascicle1622
fawda1642
nitch1726
fascine1793
fasciculus1816
OE Ælfric Lives of Saints (Julius) (1881) I. 62 Ða het se arleasa onfon þæra hlafa, and syllan þam Godes menn gærs togeanes... Þa underfæng se halga þa handfulle.
OE Lambeth Psalter cxxv. 6 Portantes manipulos suos : berende gripan uel scafas uel handfulla heora.
?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 186 An hontful of ȝerden.
a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 1919 Ðat is [sc. Joseph's] handful stod rigt up soren, And here it leigen alle hem bi-foren.
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1959) Gen. xxxvii. 7 I wende vs to byndyn handfulleȝ [a1425 Corpus Oxf. hondfullis] in þe feeld..& ȝour handfulles stondyng all aboute to louten myn handfull.
a1425 (a1382) Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Corpus Oxf.) (1850) Ruth iii. 7 Whanne Booz..was goon to sleepe biside the heep of handfullis, she cam.
?c1475 Catholicon Anglicum (BL Add. 15562) f. 54 To Gyder hanfulis, calamare.
1490 W. Caxton tr. Foure Sonnes of Aymon (1885) iii. 107 Ye ben not worth an hanfull of strawe.
1532 (c1385) Usk's Test. Loue in Wks. G. Chaucer Prol. f. cccxxvv Glene my handfuls of the shedynge after their handes.
1791 W. Cowper tr. Homer Iliad in Iliad & Odyssey I. xviii. 690 In frequent handfulls, there, they bound the sheaves.
1846 J. Baxter Libr. Pract. Agric. (ed. 4) II. 403 A wheat-sheaf should never contain more than two or three handsful.
1999 J. C. Ebbs Hist. Drummond Township ix. 76 The grain was then bundled and tied in sheaves using two handfuls of grain twisted together.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > measurement > measurement of length > [noun] > units of length or distance > length or breadth of hand > breadth of hand
handbreedOE
handful1439
handbreadth1530
hand1561
1439–40 Rolls of Parl.: Henry VI (Electronic ed.) Parl. Nov. 1439 §55. m. 3 They were wonte to mete clothe by yerde and ynche, nowe they woll mete by yerde and handfull.
1535 Act 27 Hen. VIII c. 6 §2 Two mares..of the altitude or height of .xiii. handefulles at the least.
1589 J. Jane in R. Hakluyt Princ. Navigations iii. 777 A tree..fourteene handfuls about.
1670 S. Wilson Lassels's Voy. Italy (new ed.) 127 A little Pillar two handfull high of marble.
1706 E. Herbert in J. Hughes Compl. Hist. Eng. II. 189/1 Keep two or more Mares..of thirteen handfuls high, for breed of strong Horses.
1733 J. Tull Horse-hoing Husbandry xiv. 182 A Handful high.
4. A small number or company (of people or things); a small quantity or amount; a few. Formerly frequently depreciative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > smallness of quantity, amount, or degree > [noun] > a small quantity or amount
speckc725
littleOE
somethingc1200
lutewihtc1230
little whatc1384
ouncec1387
lap1393
smalla1400
modicumc1400
nekedc1400
spota1413
tinec1420
nieveful?a1425
handfulc1443
mouthful?c1450
smatchc1456
weec1480
quern1503
halfpennyworth1533
groatsworth1562
dram1566
shellful1578
trickle1580
snatch1592
sprinkling1594
fleck1598
snip1598
pittance1600
lick1603
fingerful1604
modicum1606
thimbleful1607
flash1614
dasha1616
pipa1616
pickle1629
drachm1635
cue1654
smack1693
starn1720
bit1753
kenning1787
minikin1787
tate1805
starnie1808
sprat1815
harl1821
skerrick1825
smallums1828
huckleberry1832
scrimp1840
thimble1841
smite1843
nattering1859
sensation1859
spurt1859
pauchlea1870
mention1891
sketch1894
sputterings1894
scrappet1901
titch1937
tad1940
skosh1959
smattering1973
the world > relative properties > number > plurality > fewness > [noun] > a small number of
some fewOE
puckleOE
a litec1290
couple1365
a…or twoa1400
handfulc1443
a wheen (of)1487
and odd1548
sprinkling1561
pair1611
scattering1628
sprinkle1754
c1443 R. Pecock Reule of Crysten Religioun (1927) 365 Þilke ij tablis were..an hondful of þe hool summe of þi comaundementis.
1523 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Chron. I. cccxcix. f. cclxxxv/2 Ye se yonder your enemyes, they be but a handefull of men.
1536 R. Morison Remedy for Sedition sig. 2a The ignorant souldiours were here thus taught, a handful of witte to be moch more worth than a horslode of strengthe.
1598 W. Shakespeare Love's Labour's Lost iv. i. 146 His Page atother side, that handfull of wit. View more context for this quotation
1631 Earl of Manchester Contemplatio Mortis 92 The longest liuer hath but a handfull of dayes.
1652 F. Kirkman tr. A. Du Périer Loves Clerio & Lozia 190 He took the Bassa, and with this handful of men performed a world of gallantries.
1748 B. Robins & R. Walter Voy. round World by Anson iii. x. 414 Conquered about an age since by a handful of Tartars.
1781 E. Pendleton Let. 16 Feb. in Lett. & Papers (1967) I. 340 It was to be imputed our disgrace in having Our Metropolis..Supprized and taken without resistance by an handful of Banditti.
1828 J. R. Planché Desc. Danube 62 Passing a handful of villages.
1839 C. Dickens Nicholas Nickleby xxiii. 223 Mrs. Crummles herself has played to mere handfuls.
1876 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest V. xxv. 550 They kept their own tongue, borrowing only a handful of words from the British tongue.
1916 C. B. Bagley Hist. Seattle II. xxv. 476 These [Chinamen] gradually departed by train and steamer until but a handful remained.
1959 Baseball Digest Oct. 38/1 The Red Sox were a game ahead with only a handful left.
2011 Wall St. Jrnl. 12 Sept. r7/1 A handful of municipalities are radically reducing the amount of refuse they send to landfills.
5. figurative. As much as one can manage; someone or something which is troublesome or difficult to control or deal with. Cf. to have one's hands full at hand n. Phrases 3k.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > difficulty > [noun] > that which is difficult > a difficult thing or person
sluta1475
nut1540
Tartar1669
bitch1699
handful1755
tickler1825
pebble1829
hard ticket1847
tough nut1862
bear1876
Roger1885
trier1893
peb1903
heller1923
pawful1925
honey1932
sod1936
toughie1945
motherfucker1948
hard-arse1966
1586 J. Bullingham Let. 24 May (PRO.: SP46/34/61) Healpe me, I pray, owt of these troubles, whearof I have my handfull, yea my headfull & heartfull, the Lord knowethe.]
1755 S. Johnson Dict. Eng. Lang. Handful..4. As much as can be done.
1887 M. E. Braddon Like & Unlike I. i. 15 I can assure you he was a handful even for me.
1928 N. Shepherd Quarry Wood xiv. 193 Miss Foubister..had been a terrible handful for years before she died, getting up and dressing herself in the middle of the night [etc.].
1961 E. Taylor In Summer Season i. i. 13 I was certainly rather a handful when I was a girl.
1984 Flying Nov. 118/2 The airplane was a real handful to control.
2007 Wisden Cricketer July 80/4 Roberts was again a handful on the then unpredictable wicket.
6. Criminals' slang. A five-year prison sentence.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > punishment > imprisonment > [noun] > sentence or term of > specific term of (year(s))
year1874
rest1882
two-spot1885
trey1887
swy1924
sawbuck1925
handful1930
taxi1930
nickel1953
dime1967
1930 J. Lait Big House i. 6 A five-year sentence is a ‘handful’.
1953 M. Gilbert Fear to Tread ix. 118 He's had a two-stretch... He'll collect a handful next time.
1966 New Society 31 Mar. 22/2 Going up for a handful (receiving a sentence of five years' imprisonment).
1984 Police Rev. 23 Mar. 584/1 A five-year sentence is a ‘handful’; a seven-year one, in a rare example of back slang, is a ‘neves’.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2013; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
handfulv.
/ˈhan(d)fʊl/, U.S. /ˈhæn(d)ˌfʊl/ rare.
transitive. To deal out or take by handfuls.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > giving > distributing or dealing out > distribute or deal out [verb (transitive)] > sparingly or in small quantities
to scant out1573
handful1626
halfpennyworth1676
dole1749
peddle1786
morsel1855
1626 Bp. J. Hall Serm. Publike Thanksgiuing 16 Not sparingly handfulld out to vs, but dealt to vs by the whole load.
1982 B. MacLaverty Time to Dance (1985) 141 He..handfulled the rest of the coins out of his pocket.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2013; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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