HAND (a word common to Teutonic languages; cf. Ger. Hand, Goth. handus)

This article appears in Volume V12, Page 910 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: GUI-HAN

HAND (a word common to Teutonic languages; cf. Ger. Hand, Goth. handus) , the terminal part of the human arm from below the wrist, and consisting of the fingers and the palm. The word is also used of the prehensile termination of the limbs in certain other animals (see ANATOMY: Superficial and artistic; SKELETON: Appendicular, and such articles. as MUSCULAR SYSTEM and NERVOUS SYSTEM). There are many transferred applications of "hand," both as a substantive and in various adverbial phrases. The following may be mentioned: charge or authority, agency, source, chiefly in such expressions as "in the hands of," "by hand," "at first hand." From the position of the hands at the side of the

body

BODY

, the word means "direction," e.g., on the right, left hand, cf. " at hand." The hand as given in betrothal or

marriage

MARRIAGE

has been from early times the symbol of

marriage

MARRIAGE

as it also is of oaths. Other applications are to labourers engaged in

manual

MANUAL

occupations, the members of the

crew

CREW (sometimes explained as a sea
term
- TERM
of Scandinavian origin, cf. O. Icel. kris, a swarm or crowd, but now regarded as a shortened form of accrue, accrewe, used in the 16th century in the sense of a reinforcement, O. Fr. acreue, from accrofire, to grow,
CREW, NATHANIEL CREW, 3RD BARON (1633–1721)

of a ship, to a person who has some

special

SPECIAL

skill, as in the phrase, " old parliamentary hand," and to the pointers of a clock or

watch

WATCH (in O. Eng. wcecce, a keeping guard or watching, from wacian, to guard, watch, wacan, to wake)

and to the number of cards dealt to each player in a card game. As a measure of length the

term

TERM

" hand " is now only used in the measurement of horses, it is equal to 4 in. The name " hand of

glory

GLORY (through the O. Fr. glorie, modern gloire, from Lat. gloria, cognate with Gr. KXebs, abets)

," is given to a hand cut from the corpse of a hanged criminal, dried in smoke, and used as a charm or

talisman

TALISMAN

, for the finding of treasures, &c. The expression is the

translation

TRANSLATION

of the Fr. main de gloire, a corruption of the O. Fr. mandegloire, mandegoire, i.e. mandragore, mandragora, the mandrake, to the root of which many magical properties are attributed.

End of Article: HAND (a word common to Teutonic languages; cf. Ger. Hand, Goth. handus)

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