Etymology

handle

han·dle
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Today it means: The part of an object which is (designed to be) held in the hand when used or moved. Full definition →

Middle English handel ← Old English handle ← Proto-West Germanic *handulā
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handle · noun1

  1. Proto-West Germanic · derived from*handulā“handle”
  2. Old English · derived fromhandle“handle”
  3. Middle English · derived fromhandel
  4. English todayhandle

From Middle English handel, handle, from Old English handle (“handle”), from Proto-West Germanic *handulā (“handle”). See verb below. Cognate with German Hantel (“dumbbell, barbell”), Danish handel (“handle”). Related to hand.

handle · verb2

  1. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*handulōną“to take, grip, feel”
  2. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*handulōn
  3. Old English · inherited fromhandlian“to handle, feel, deal with, discuss”
  4. Middle English · inherited fromhandlen
  5. English todayhandle

From Middle English handlen, from Old English handlian (“to handle, feel, deal with, discuss”), from Proto-West Germanic *handulōn, from Proto-Germanic *handulōną (“to take, grip, feel”), equivalent to hand + -le. Cognate with West Frisian handelje, hanneljen, hanljen (“to handle, treat”), Dutch handelen (“to handle, deal, act, negotiate”), German handeln (“to act, trade, negotiate, behave”), Swedish handla (“to buy, trade, deal”), Icelandic höndla (“to handle”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.