handy

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   easy to reach

   I found a handy spot for the can opener.

2. 2
   adj

   skillful with the hands

   I am handy with a needle and thread.

3. 3
   adj

   easy to use

   The new blender was handy gadget.

4. 4
   adj

   Easy to use, useful.

   Some people regard duct tape as a handy fix-all.

5. 5
   adj

   Nearby, within reach.

   You wouldn’t have a screwdriver handy, would you?

6. 6
   adj

   Dexterous, skilful. (of a person)

   She's very handy: she made all her own kitchen cupboards.

7. 7
   adj

   Physically violent; tending to use one's fists.

   We had a sergeant who was a bit handy with the rougher elements. He dealt with them a little bit differently to what I do.

8. 8
   noun

   The hand.

   Clap, clap handies Mammie's wee, wee ain.

Etymology

From Middle English handy, hondi (attested in personal names), alteration of earlier hendi (“handy, skillful”), from Old English *hendiġ (“skillful”) (attested in listhendiġ (“skilled in art”)), from Proto-West Germanic *handīg, *handag, *handug, from Proto-Germanic *handugaz (“handy, skillful, nimble”), from *handuz (“hand”), equivalent to hand + -y. Cognate with Saterland Frisian jäntich (“handy”), Middle Low German handich (“skillful, apt”), Middle High German handec, hendec (“manual, hand-held”), Old Norse hǫndugr (“efficient”), Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐌽𐌳𐌿𐌲𐍃 (handugs, “wise, clever”). Akin to Dutch handi…