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handbreadth. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
handbreadth, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
handbreadth in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
handbreadth you have here. The definition of the word
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English
Etymology
Alteration (due to breadth) of Middle English handbrede, hondbrede (“handbreadth”); equivalent to hand + breadth. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Houndebratte (“handbreadth”), West Frisian hânbreedte (“handbreadth”), Dutch handbreedte (“handbreadth”), German Handbreite (“handbreadth”) and Handbreit, Swedish handsbredd (“handbreadth”), Norwegian håndsbredd (“handbreadth”), Icelandic handbreidd (“handbreadth”).
Noun
handbreadth (plural handbreadths)
- A space equal to the breadth of the hand; a palm.
1928, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, chapter 14, in Lady Chatterley’s Lover, Tipografia Giuntina,
],
→OCLC; republished as
Lady Chatterley’s Lover (eBook no. 0100181h.html)
, Australia:
Project Gutenberg Australia, August 2011, archived from
the original on
11 November 2020:
She followed him into the scullery, and combed her hair before the handbreadth of mirror by the back door.
Synonyms
Translations
A measurement - the width of a hand