Dictionary

unhand en · VERB

Pronunciation

• /ʌnˈhænd/ (UK)

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *né Proto-Indo-European *n̥- Proto-Germanic *un- Proto-West Germanic *un- Old English un- Middle English un- English un- Proto-Germanic *handuz Proto-West Germanic *handu Old English hand Middle English hond English hand English unhand From un- + hand.

Meanings

1. To release from the hand; to let go.
   • As he dried the last toe, she said, “Thank you. You may now unhand my feet” 2008, Anne Gracie, The Stolen Princess, Berkley Books, →ISBN, Chapter Two, page 33:
   • He holds him with his skinny hand, "There was a ship," quoth he. "Hold off! unhand me, grey-beard loon!" Eftsoons his hand dropt he. 1798, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Rime of the Ancient Mariner, part 1, lines 9-12:
   • “Unhand' the lady!” said Vernon, in a severe tone, as, at the same time, he draw from his pocket a pistol. “Unhand her!” and he approached the lawyer 1853, Oliver Optic, Hatchie, The Guardian Slave or The Heiress of Bellevue. A Tale of the Mississippi and the South-west, B. B. Mussey and Company, and R. B. Fitts and Company, Chapter XXX, page 305:

Forms