Where does “handcart” come from?
Handcart comes from English hand and English cart, with cart deriving from Old Norse karr, while the compound itself reflects the pattern of French charrette from Latin carrus meaning wagon.
handcart (English): A cart designed to be pulled or pushed by hand
Definitions
- A cart designed to be pulled or pushed by hand
Ancestry of “handcart”, step by step
handcart traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English Hand
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Hand | The part of the forelimb below the forearm or wrist in a human, and the corresponding part in many other animals |
| 2 | Middle English | hond | hand; Alternative form of hound |
| 3 | Old English | hand | A hand |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | handu | hand |
| 5 | Swedish | hand | A hand; A hand; the set of cards held by a player |
| 6 | Old Swedish | hand | A hand; A direction; A behalf |
| 7 | Old Norse | hǫnd | hand |
| 8 | Proto-Germanic | handuz | hand |