Etymology

hantle

H4A1N1T1L1E1

Today it means: A considerable number or quantity; a great many; a great deal. Full definition →

Middle English *antel ← Old English *antæl
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The story

  1. Old English · inherited from*antæl
  2. Middle English · inherited from*antel
  3. English todayhantle

Of obscure origin. Perhaps from Middle English *antel, *antæl, from Old English *antæl, *andtæl, equivalent to and- + tale (“number”); or more likely of North Germanic origin, related to Swedish antal, Danish antal (“a number, multitude”), Dutch aantal (“a number, a great many”), and German Anzahl (“a number, quantity, multitude”). The addition of initial h is believed to be due to influence from Middle English handfull (“handful”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.