Where does “hand-held” come from?

hand-held (English) comes 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, from Proto-Germanic handuz — hand.

hand-held (English): Held in one or both hands; Small and light enough...

Definitions

  1. Held in one or both hands; Small and light enough...

Ancestry of “hand-held”, step by step

hand-held traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English Hand

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

via English held

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Englishheldsimple past tense and past participle of hold
Every word from Proto-Germanic handuz
hand-held — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer