Where does “handcuffs” come from?
Handcuffs comes from English hand combined with cuff, ultimately tracing through Old English hand and Proto-Germanic hundą to Proto-Indo-European ḱwṓ, meaning to seize or strike.
handcuffs (English): A fastening consisting of two metal rings,...
Definitions
- A fastening consisting of two metal rings,...
Ancestry of “handcuffs”, step by step
handcuffs 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 |