# handplay

> English word · Noun

## Definitions
1. Hand-to-hand combat.
2. In the game of skat, the playing of one's hand without using the skat.

## Etymology
Combat sense: perhaps from Middle English *handpleie, from Old English handplega (“fighting”), equivalent to hand + play. Compare swordplay.

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