handiwork

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   work done by hand, or an object made through manual skill

   Visitors admired the intricate handiwork on the carved wooden chest.

2. 2
   noun

   the result of a particular person's or group's actions, often something harmful or distinctive

   Investigators recognized the damage as the handiwork of an experienced arsonist.

From Old English handgeweorc ("work of the hand, creation"), combining hand with geweorc ("work"). As the old collective prefix ge- weakened, the form was reinterpreted as handy + work.

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