| 释义 |
handsel or hansel /hanˈsəl/ noun- An inaugural gift, eg a present on Handsel Monday, a coin put in the pocket of a new coat, or the like
- Something thought of as an inauguration or beginning, such as the first money taken, earnest-money, a first instalment, the first use of anything
- Apparently payment or penalty (Spenser)
transitive verb (handˈselling or hanˈselling; handˈselled or hanˈselled)- To give a handsel to
- To inaugurate
- To make a beginning on
- To cut off, kill (Chatterton, from a blundering reading of a dictionary explanation, ‘to cut off a first slice’)
ORIGIN: OE handselen hand-gift, giving; or ON handsal Handsel Monday noun (Scot) The first Monday after New Year's Day, when handsels were given |