handhaben

From Middle High German hanthaben (1349). The earliest sense is “to keep, protect, maintain”, hence eventually a loan translation of Old French maintenir and/or Latin manūtenēre. The possible French origin and the earlier attestation of Middle Dutch hanthaven (1286) and Middle Low German handhafen (1330) suggest that the word may have been borrowed through these. The Germanic formation must be denominal, which is particularly obvious in the northern languages (where the verb “to have” is hebben), but is also seen in High German from the invariably regular conjugation. The nominal element may be Middle High German hanthabe (“haft, handle”), from Old High German hanthaba, anthaba (also Old Saxon handhava; Middle Dutch hanthave only attested 1490), but the semantics seem problematic. Alternatively a new compound from hant + Middle High German habe, Middle Dutch have (“possession, belongings”); cf. Middle High German hanthab (“stolen good”, ca. 1350).

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handhaben (weak, third-person singular present handhabt, past tense handhabte, past participle gehandhabt, auxiliary haben)

1. to handle, wield, manipulate
2. to manage, control, operate
3. (obsolete, law) to protect someone; to enforce their rights

• Handhabung

• Handhabe

• hantieren

• “handhaben” in Duden online
• “handhaben” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache