handful

English

Alternative forms

handfull (archaic)

Etymology

From Middle English handful, hondful, from Old English handful (“handful”), from Proto-Germanic *handfullō, *handfullijô (“handful”), from Proto-Germanic *handuz (“hand”) + *fullaz (“full”); equivalent to hand +‎ full (“fullness, plenty”) or hand +‎ -ful. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Hondful (“handful”), West Frisian hânfol (“handful”), Dutch handvol (“handful”), Danish håndfuld (“handful”), Swedish handfull (“handful”), Icelandic handfylli (“handful”).

Pronunciation

Audio (US) (file)
IPA^(key): /ˈhæn(d)fʊl/, /ˈhæn(d)f(ə)l/

Noun

handful (plural handfuls or handsful)

The amount that a hand will grasp or contain.
I put two or three corns in my mouth, liked it, stole a handful, went into my chamber, chewed it, and for two months after never failed taking toll of every pennyworth of oatmeal that came into the house. - Joseph Addison, The Spectator, Vol. VI
(obsolete) A hand's breadth; four inches.
- Francis Bacon
  Knap the tongs together about a handful from the bottom.
A small number, usually approximately five.
- Fuller
  This handful of men were tied to very hard duty.
A group or number of things; a bunch.
- 1866, Emma Jane Worboise, Sir Julian's Wife (page 89)
  But, aunt, she must have had some kind of education, her accent was so pure, her English so unfaulty. The other girl dropped her h's by handfuls, and made some very wild confusion in her native etymology.
Something which can only be managed with difficulty.
Those twins are a real handful to look after.
- 2008, Dog Fancy (volume 39, issue 11, page 76)
  Many times dogs are surrendered for reasons such as changes in the family unit, a death in the family, no time to care for a dog, or because that cute little puppy is now a 100 lb untrained handful.

Synonyms

(content of a hand) fistful
handbreadth, handsbreadth

Derived terms

To have one's handful: (Obsolete): to have one's hands full; to have all one can do.
They had their handful to defend themselves from firing. - Sir Walter Raleigh

Related terms

handgrip
handhold

Translations

amount held in hand

Armenian: բուռ (hy) (buṙ)
Aromanian: mãnatã f
Azerbaijani: ovuc (az)
Belarusian: жме́ня f (žmjénja)
Bulgarian: шепа (bg) f (šepa)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 滿手 (zh), 满手 (zh) (mǎnshoǔ)
Czech: hrst (cs) f
Danish: håndfuld c
Dutch: handvol (nl) n
Esperanto: plenmano, manpleno
Finnish: kourallinen (fi)
French: poignée (fr) f
Galician: manchea (gl) f, presa (gl) f, manda (gl) f
German: Handvoll (de) f
Alemannic German: Gaufflete f
Greek: χούφτα (el) f (choúfta)
Ancient: δράξ f (dráx)
Hungarian: marék (hu), maréknyi, marok (hu), maroknyi (hu)
Ido: manuedo (io)
Indonesian: segenggam
Irish: crág f, lán glaice m, lán láimhe m
Italian: manciata (it), pugno (it), manipolo (it) m
Japanese: 一握り (ひとにぎり, hitonigiri), 一掴み (ひとつかみ, hitotsukami)
Kazakh: уыс (wıs)
Korean: 한 줌 (han jum)
Latgalian: sauve

Latin: manipulus m
Latvian: sauja
Macedonian: гр́ст m (gŕst)
Maori: kutanga, kapuranga
Norman: pouongnie f
Norwegian:
Bokmål: håndfull m, handfull m
Nynorsk: handfull f
Polish: garść (pl) f
Portuguese: punhado (pt) m, mancheia (pt) f
Quechua: q'api
Romanian: pumn (ro) n, mănunchi (ro) n
Russian: горсть (ru) f (gorstʹ), при́горшня (ru) f (prígoršnja), жме́ня (ru) f (žménja)
Scots: haundfu, luiffu, nievefu
Scottish Gaelic: làn cròige f
Shan: ယွပ်း (jɔp4)
Slovak: hrsť f, hŕstka f
Sorbian:
Lower Sorbian: gjarsć f
Spanish: manojo (es) m, puñado (es) m
Swedish: handfull (sv) c, näve (sv) c
Telugu: పిడికెడు (te) (piḍikeḍu)
Thai: หยิบมือเดียว (yib mue diew) (figurative, idiomatic)
Ukrainian: жме́ня f (žménja)
Vietnamese: nắm (vi), vốc (vi)
Westrobothnian: gönkän f, gåft f, nävafyll f
Yiddish: זשמעניע‎ f (zhmenye)
Zulu: isandla (zu) class 7/8, ukhweshe (zu) class 11/10

breadth of hand

Danish: håndsbred c
Dutch: handbreed (nl) n, handbreedte
French: manipule (fr)
German: Handbreite f

Italian: manipolo (it), gruppetto, pugno (it)
Macedonian: гр́ст m (gŕst)
Portuguese: palmo (pt) m
Telugu: చేరెడు (te) (cēreḍu)

small number

Armenian: բուռ (hy) (buṙ)
Catalan: grapat (ca) m
Chinese:
Mandarin: 少數 (zh), 少数 (zh) (shǎoshù)
Danish: håndfuld c
Dutch: handvol (nl) n, beetje (nl) n
Finnish: kourallinen (fi)
French: poignée (fr) f
German: Handvoll (de) f
Greek: χούφτα (el) f (choúfta)
Indonesian: segenggam
Italian: manciata (it) f, pugno (it) m, manipolo (it)
Japanese: 少数 (ja) (しょうすう, shōsū)

Macedonian: гр́ст m (gŕst)
Norman: pouongnie f
Norwegian:
Bokmål: håndfull m, handfull m
Nynorsk: handfull f
Polish: garść (pl) f, garstka (pl) f
Portuguese: punhado (pt) m
Russian: го́рстка (ru) f (górstka), горсть (ru) f (gorstʹ)
Sorbian:
Lower Sorbian: gjarsć f, gjarstka f
Spanish: puñado (es) m
Swedish: handfull (sv)
Venetian: grop (vec) m

handled with difficulty

Chinese:
Mandarin: 棘手事
Dutch: handenbinder (nl) m, lastpost (nl)

Italian: indisciplinato (it), irrequieto (it), birichino (it)
Polish: trudne do zniesienia
Venetian: slandron m, desvià m

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.

Translations to be checked

Norwegian: ^{(please verify)} knyttneve m (breadth of hand)

Spanish: ^{(please verify)} puñado (es) m, ^{(please verify)} manojo (es) m, ^{(please verify)} poca cantidad f