hand
Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.
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4 characters
Language
English
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Detailed reference entry for the English word "hand", 4-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "hand" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "hand" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.
hand is aEnglishnoun. It means: The part of the forelimb below the forearm or wrist in a human, and the corresponding part in many other animals. Pronounced /ˈhænd/. It ranks #375 in English word frequency. Often confused with HD and hn.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | hand |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈhænd/ |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #375 |
| Misspellings tracked | 6 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Frequency rank visualization
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for hand is 4 letters long, classified as anoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈhænd/. Corpus data places it at rank #375 in overall English word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language.Wiktionary records 28 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 6 documented wrong-spelling variants for hand, with forms such as "ahnd", "hadn", and "handd". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "HD", "hn", "has", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English hond, hand, from Old English hand, from Proto-West Germanic *handu, from Proto-Germanic *handuz. See also Dutch and Swedish hand (“hand”), Danish hånd, German Hand, West Frisian hân). Perhaps compare Old Swedish hinna (“to gain”), Gothic… Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is hand, spelled H-A-N-D, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.
Definition
- 1The part of the forelimb below the forearm or wrist in a human, and the corresponding part in many other animals.
- 2That which resembles, or to some extent performs the office of, a human hand.
- 3That which resembles, or to some extent performs the office of, a human hand.
- 4That which is, or may be, held in a hand at once.
- 5That which is, or may be, held in a hand at once.
- 6That which is, or may be, held in a hand at once.
- 7That which is, or may be, held in a hand at once.
- 8In linear measurement:
- 9In linear measurement:
- 10A side; part, camp; direction, either right or left.
- 11Power of performance; means of execution; ability; skill; dexterity.
- 12An agent; a servant, or manual laborer; a workman, trained or competent for special service or duty.
- 13A performer more or less skilful.
- 14An instance of helping.
- 15Handwriting; style of penmanship.
- 16A person's autograph or signature.
- 17Promise, word; especially of a betrothal.
- 18Personal possession; ownership.
- 19Management, domain, control.
- 20A hand which is free to assist; especially due to having one's hands full or otherwise fully preoccupied.
- 21Applause.
- 22A Native American gambling game, involving guessing the whereabouts of bits of ivory or similar, which are passed rapidly from hand to hand.
- 23The small part of a gunstock near the lock, which is grasped by the hand in taking aim.
- 24A whole rhizome of ginger.
- 25The feel of a fabric; the impression or quality of the fabric as judged qualitatively by the sense of touch.
- 26Actual performance; deed; act; workmanship; agency; hence, manner of performance.
- 27Agency in transmission from one person to another.
- 28Rate; price.
Etymology
From Middle English hond, hand, from Old English hand, from Proto-West Germanic *handu, from Proto-Germanic *handuz. See also Dutch and Swedish hand (“hand”), Danish hånd, German Hand, West Frisian hân). Perhaps compare Old Swedish hinna (“to gain”), Gothic 𐍆𐍂𐌰-𐌷𐌹𐌽𐌸𐌰𐌽 (fra-hinþan, “to take captive, capture”); and Latvian sīts (“hunting spear”), Ancient Greek κεντέω (kentéō, “prick”), Albanian çandër (“pitchfork, prop”).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ahnd,hadn,handd,hannd,hhand,hnad
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
Relative frequency of common misspelling types for hand
Misspelling Variants of "hand"
Frequency rank: #375 in English
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Nearby English words
Other entries that begin with the letter H in our English index: