# handcuff

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈhændˌkʌf/ · frequency rank #45,964

## Definitions
1. One ring of a locking fetter for the hand or one pair.

## Etymology
From hand + cuff (“end of shirtsleeve”). Possibly an adaptation of Middle English handcops (“shackles for the hand, handcuffs”), from Old English handcops, from hand + cops, cosp (“fetter, chains”), but due to a lack of continuity (centuries between Old English and the modern term), generally analyzed as a re-invention. Nominal form first appears c. 1591 in the publications of John Florio. Verbal form first appears c. 1649.

## Easily confused with
- **handcuffs** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/handcuff-vs-handcuffs)

## Common misspellings (11)
`ahndcuff`, `hadncuff`, `hancduff`, `handccuff`, `handcfuf`, `handcuf`, `handdcuff`, `handucff`, `hanndcuff`, `hhandcuff`, `hnadcuff`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/handcuff