handed, a.
(ˈhændɪd)
[f. hand + -ed.]
1. Having hands; esp. of some specified kind.
| 1552 Huloet, Handed longe, or longe handes hauynge. 1613 Purchas Pilgrimage (1614) 816 It hath the body of a Fox, handed and footed like a Monkie. 1674 N. Fairfax Bulk & Selv. To Rdr., We and others of the Handed Philosophers. 1791 E. Darwin Bot. Gard. ii. iii. 1781 Nor handed moles, nor beaked worms return. |
b. Very frequently in parasynthetic compounds, as empty-handed, hard-handed, open-handed, two-handed, four-handed.
| 1526 Skelton Magnyf. 2257 Ye both well handyd. 1611 Bible Lev. xxi. 19 A man that is broken footed, or broken handed. 1632 Lithgow Trav. iii. 88 [They] doe not use to come empty handed. 1894 Ld. Wolseley Marlborough II. xlix. 40 A peculiarly indulgent or open-handed master. |
2. = palmate.
| 1854 Mayne Expos. Lex., Handed Fucus..common name for the Fucus palmatus. |
3. Joined hand in hand.
| 1643 Milton Divorce Pref. (1851) 15 If any two be but once handed in the Church. 1667 ― P.L. iv. 739 Into thir inmost bower Handed they went. 1881 D. C. Murray Joseph's Coat III. xxxiv. 234 They sat handed, looking at each other now and then, but quite wordless. |
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Add: [1.] c. Pertaining to or exhibiting handedness; spec. of a tool, implement, etc.: designed exclusively for either left-handed or for right-handed use. Also transf.
| 1972 C. Mudie Motor Boats & Boating 110 Most twin engined boats are arranged so that the propellers have handed rotation, usually outboard, which balances out the torque effect. 1977 C. Blakemore Mech. of Mind v. 149 (caption) Common handedness amongst a group of people would have allowed them to develop more complicated ‘handed’ tools which could then have been shared by all those with the same dominant hand. 1980 J. S. Stein Construction Gloss. viii. 284/2 Handed, 1. term indicating that the product is for use only on doors of the designated hand. 2. term indicating that the article is designed or assembled for use on either a right-hand or left-hand door, but not both. 1982 P. Marsh Illustr. Dict. Building 125/1 In the USA..the terminology differs, and even in the UK various items of ironmongery are also handed and may not correspond to the hand of the door. |