Dictionary

handful en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (US) audio
• /ˈhæn(d)fʊl/
• /ˈhæn(d)fəl/

Etymology

From Middle English handful, hondful, from Old English handfull (“handful”), from Proto-Germanic *handufullō, *handufulliz (“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”), German Handvoll (“handful”), Danish håndfuld (“handful”), Swedish handfull (“handful”), Icelandic handfylli (“handful”).

Meanings

1. 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: […] 1712 July 25 (Gregorian calendar), [Richard Steele], “MONDAY, July 15, 1712”, in The Spectator, number 431; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New Edition, […], volume V, New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton & Company, 1853, →OCLC, page 130:
2. (obsolete) A hand's breadth; four inches.
   • Knap the tongs together about a handful from the bottom. 1627 (indicated as 1626), Francis [Bacon], “(please specify the page, or |century=I to X)”, in Sylua Syluarum: Or A Naturall Historie. In Ten Centuries. […], London: […] William Rawley […]; [p]rinted by J[ohn] H[aviland] for William Lee […], →OCLC:
3. A small number, usually approximately five.
   • Was it deliberate that the first week of October 1961 was chosen to conduct a national survey of passenger usage? Why October of all months, when the holiday season was over and families back at work and at school? Was this a fiddling of the figures to make an unfair case against rail-dependent resorts such as those in the West Country, Norfolk, Lincolnshire and East Yorkshire, where previously overloaded summer services would now only have a handful of locals on board? 2023 March 8, Howard Johnston, “Was Marples the real railway wrecker?”, in RAIL, number 978, pages 52–53:
   • The names of a number of the most famous North American railroads could be found in the north-east; Pennsylvania, New York Central, Baltimore & Ohio, Chesapeake & Ohio, and the Norfolk & Western, to name but a handful. 1985, Rodger Bradley, Amtrak: The US National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Blandford Press, page 92:
   • You tell me the velocity of a baseball as it leaves Derek Jeter's bat, and I can use the laws of physics to calculate where it will land a handful of seconds later. 2005 April 8, Brian Greene, “One Hundred Years of Uncertainty”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 09 Mar 2021:
   • This handful of men were tied to very hard duty. 1655, Thomas Fuller, The Church-history of Britain; […], London: […] Iohn Williams […], →OCLC, (please specify |book=I to XI):
4. A group or number of things; a bunch.
   • 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. 1866, Emma Jane Worboise, “Ivy Cottage”, in Sir Julian’s Wife, London: Virtue Brothers and Co., […], →OCLC, pages 89–90:
5. (informal) Something which can only be managed with difficulty.
   • 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. 2008, Dog Fancy, volume 39, number 11, page 76:
   • The Southern acquired them because the little Class "B4" 0-4-0 tanks were finding heavy modern rolling stock more and more of a handful, and at war's end the railway had nothing of suitable power but short wheelbase on its books to take their place on the more tortuous of the dock lines. 1959 February, G. Freeman Allen, “Southampton—Gateway to the Ocean”, in Trains Illustrated, page 91:
   • Those twins are a real handful to look after.
6. (slang) A five-year prison sentence.

Forms

Deriveds

have one's handful

Relateds

handgrip · handhold

Synonyms

handsbreadth · handbreadth · fistful (content of a hand)

Translations (156)

izh pijolliin (amount held in hand) · eo plenmano (amount held in hand) · vec desvià (handled with difficulty) · ru горсть (small number) · ru горсть (amount held in hand) · pt mancheia (amount held in hand) · sv handfull (small number) · it pugno (amount held in hand) · ga lán glaice (amount held in hand) · it manipolo (amount held in hand) · fr poignée (amount held in hand) · ja 一掴み (amount held in hand) · rup mãnatã (amount held in hand) · ga crág (amount held in hand) · io manuedo (amount held in hand) · te చేరెడు (breadth of hand) · nb handfull (amount held in hand) · de Handvoll (amount held in hand) · ru при́горшня (amount held in hand) · atv ош (amount held in hand) · izh pijo (amount held in hand) · mi kapuranga (amount held in hand) · la manipulus (amount held in hand) · dsb gjarsć (small number) · zu isandla (amount held in hand) · pl trudne do zniesienia (handled with difficulty) · sco nievefu (amount held in hand) · grc δράξ (amount held in hand) · ja 一握り (amount held in hand) · tr bir avuç (small number) · vec grop (small number) · eo manpleno (amount held in hand) · el χούφτα (amount held in hand) · alt ууш (amount held in hand) · es puñado (amount held in hand) · atv каам (amount held in hand) · it manipolo (breadth of hand) · de Handbreite (breadth of hand) · nrf pouongnie (amount held in hand) · pl garść (amount held in hand) · ro mănunchi (amount held in hand) · it irrequieto (handled with difficulty) · bg педя (breadth of hand) · tr karış (breadth of hand) · ca grapat (small number) · pt palmo (breadth of hand) · fr poignée (small number) · vi nắm (amount held in hand) · qu q'api (amount held in hand) · it pugno (small number) · cmn 滿手 /满手 (amount held in hand) · ar حَفْنَة (amount held in hand) · el χούφτα (small number) · nl beetje (small number) · zu ukhweshe class 11/10 (amount held in hand) · gl manchea (amount held in hand) · vec slandron (handled with difficulty) · hy բուռ (amount held in hand) · lv sauja (amount held in hand) · cy llond llaw (amount held in hand) · ga dornán (small number) · sk hŕstka (amount held in hand) · shn ယွပ်း (amount held in hand) · hu maréknyi (amount held in hand) · ta தலைவலி (handled with difficulty) · nb handfull (small number) · pl garść (small number) · sk hrsť (amount held in hand) · pt punhado (small number) · fi kourallinen (small number) · da håndfuld (small number) · gl presa (amount held in hand) · nb håndfull (amount held in hand) · cmn 棘手事 (handled with difficulty) · tt уч (amount held in hand) · sco haundfu (amount held in hand) · he חֹפֶן (amount held in hand) · nn handfull (amount held in hand) · la pugillum (amount held in hand) · io pugnedo (amount held in hand) · dsb gjarsć (amount held in hand) · gd làn cròige (amount held in hand) · mk гр́ст (small number) · ta கொஞ்சம் (small number) · hu maroknyi (amount held in hand) · da håndsbred (breadth of hand) · dsb gjarstka (small number) · ko 한 줌 (amount held in hand) · vi vốc (amount held in hand) · nl handbreed (breadth of hand) · it birichino (handled with difficulty) · sv näve (amount held in hand) · da håndfuld (amount held in hand) · nl handbreedte (breadth of hand) · it manipolo (small number) · nl lastpost (handled with difficulty) · nrf pouongnie (small number) · es almueza (amount held in hand) · cy dyrnaid (amount held in hand) · kk уыс (amount held in hand) · ltg sauve (amount held in hand) · de Handvoll (small number) · mi kutanga (amount held in hand) · az ovuc (amount held in hand) · be жме́ня (amount held in hand) · fi kourallinen (amount held in hand) · th หยิบมือเดียว (amount held in hand) · tyz căm (amount held in hand) · gsw Gaufflete (amount held in hand) · it indisciplinato (handled with difficulty) · ga lán láimhe (amount held in hand) · hy բուռ (small number) · nl handvol (amount held in hand) · ja 少数 (small number) · sco luiffu (amount held in hand) · cs hrst (amount held in hand) · it manciata (amount held in hand) · es manojo (amount held in hand) · ro pumn (amount held in hand) · bg шепа (amount held in hand) · nn handfull (small number) · id segenggam (amount held in hand) · id segenggam (small number) · ru го́рстка (small number) · hu marok (amount held in hand) · ota آوج (amount held in hand) · sh pregršt (amount held in hand) · unm chuwi nàxkink (amount held in hand) · es ambuesta (amount held in hand) · it manciata (small number) · te పిడికెడు (amount held in hand) · mk гр́ст (amount held in hand) · cmn 少數 /少数 (small number) · ba ус (amount held in hand) · nl handvol (small number) · es puñado (small number) · gl manda (amount held in hand) · it pugno (breadth of hand) · uk жме́ня (amount held in hand) · ru жме́ня (amount held in hand) · it gruppetto (breadth of hand) · pt punhado (amount held in hand) · ta கை அளவு (breadth of hand) · sv handfull (amount held in hand) · nb håndfull (small number) · yi זשמעניע (amount held in hand) · fr manipule (breadth of hand) · mk гр́ст (breadth of hand) · ga dornán (amount held in hand) · tr bir avuç (amount held in hand) · pl garstka (small number) · es almozada (amount held in hand) · ba ая (breadth of hand) · hu marék (amount held in hand) · ta கைப்பிடி (amount held in hand) · nl handenbinder (handled with difficulty)