Where does “evenhanded” come from?
Evenhanded comes from Middle English even- and Old English efen-, from Proto-Germanic ebna- and ebnaz, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European h₁émnos meaning level or even.
evenhanded (English): fair and having no partiality; unbiased; just
Definitions
- fair and having no partiality; unbiased; just
Ancestry of “evenhanded”, step by step
evenhanded traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English handed
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | handed | Having a certain kind or number of hands; Having... |
| 2 | English | Hand | The part of the forelimb below the forearm or wrist in a human, and the corresponding part in many other animals |
| 3 | Middle English | hond | hand; Alternative form of hound |
| 4 | Old English | hand | A hand |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | handu | hand |
| 6 | Swedish | hand | A hand; A hand; the set of cards held by a player |
| 7 | Old Swedish | hand | A hand; A direction; A behalf |
| 8 | Old Norse | hǫnd | hand |
| 9 | Proto-Germanic | handuz | hand |