Where does “cack-handed” come from?

cack-handed (English) comes from English handed, from English Hand, from Middle English hond, from Old English hand, from Proto-West Germanic handu, from Swedish hand, from Old Swedish hand, from Old Norse hǫnd — hand.

cack-handed (English): Clumsy; inept; Left-handed; Back-handed

Definitions

  1. Clumsy; inept; Left-handed; Back-handed

Ancestry of “cack-handed”, step by step

cack-handed traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English handed

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishhandedHaving a certain kind or number of hands; Having...
2EnglishHandThe part of the forelimb below the forearm or wrist in a human, and the corresponding part in many other animals
3Middle Englishhondhand; Alternative form of hound
4Old EnglishhandA hand
5Proto-West Germanichanduhand
6SwedishhandA hand; A hand; the set of cards held by a player
7Old SwedishhandA hand; A direction; A behalf
8Old Norsehǫndhand
9Proto-Germanichanduzhand

via English cag

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Englishcagkeg; cagoule; A projecting piece left on a tree...
2Swedishkaggea keg; a belly, a stomach
3Old Norsekaggikeg, cask
4Proto-Germanickagôpin, stick; bush, shrub, treestump

Words derived from “cack-handed

Every word from Proto-Germanic handuzEvery word from Old Norse hǫndEvery word from Old Swedish hand