hand-waledadj.
/ˈhandweɪld/, U.S. /ˈhæn(d)ˌweɪld/, Scottish English /ˈhandweld/ Scottish. Now rare.
Esp. of a person: individually or carefully selected for a particular purpose; hand-picked, choice; pre-eminent, chief.In quot. 1818 apparently with humorous folk-etymological association with wale n.1, as if referring to weals on the hands.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > free will > choice or choosing > types of choice > [adjective] > selecting > selected > with care or well
well-chosena1450
well-selected1607
bolteda1616
choicea1616
choice-drawna1616
hand-waled1671
well-packed1715
well-waled1718
pick1790
hand-picked1910
1671 R. McWard True Non-conformist 293 Communicating with hand-weal'd companions.
1719 A. Ramsay Epist. to Hamilton 2 Sept. 74 Sic wordy, wanton, hand-wail'd ware.
1727 P. Walker Remarkable Passages 58 To apprehend and bring to condign Punishment our hand-waild Murderers.
1786 R. Burns Epist. to W. Logan in Poems & Songs (1968) I. 301 My hand-wal'd Curse keep hard in chase The harpy, hoodock, purse-proud Race.
1818 W. Scott Heart of Mid-Lothian ix, in Tales of my Landlord 2nd Ser. I. 267 The hand-waled murderers, whose hands are hard as horn wi' hauding the slaughter-weapons.
1863 A. Steel Poems 45 Our hand-waled few wha Caldstream mense, The cream o' a' her wit and sense.
1885 Glasgow Herald 31 Jan. 4/4 The army of Lord Wolseley, whose force may be said to have been ‘hand waled’.
1921 Mentor Oct. 1/2 They were all handwaled strappan pipers, braw fifers and drum bangsters!
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2013; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1671