Where does “handle” come from?

Handle comes from Middle English handel, from Old English handle, from Proto-Germanic handlōną, derived from Proto-Germanic handuz meaning hand.

handle (English): The part of an object which is held in the hand...

Definitions

  1. The part of an object which is held in the hand...

Ancestry of “handle”, step by step

handle traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Middle English handel

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishhandel—
2Old Englishhandlea handle
3Old Englishhandlianto handle
4Proto-West Germanichandulōnto handle
5Proto-Germanichandlōnąto take or hold in the hand, seize, grip
6Proto-Germanichanduzhand

via Middle English handlen

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishhandlen—

Words derived from “handle”

Every word from Proto-Germanic handuz →Every word from Proto-Germanic handlōną →Every word from Proto-West Germanic handulōn →