Where does “handrake” come from?
handrake (English) comes from English rake, from English rakehell, from English hell, from Middle English helle, from Old English hell, from Proto-West Germanic hallju, from Proto-Germanic haljō, from Proto-Indo-European ḱel- — to cover; to incline.
handrake (English): A rake operated by hand, as opposed to a horserake
Definitions
- A rake operated by hand, as opposed to a horserake
Ancestry of “handrake”, step by step
handrake traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English rake
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | rake | A garden tool with a row of pointed teeth fixed... |
| 2 | English | rakehell | Immoral; dissolute; A lewd or wanton person; a... |
| 3 | English | hell | A place or situation of great suffering in life;... |
| 4 | Middle English | helle | Hell the Christian place of damnation |
| 5 | Old English | hell | hell |
| 6 | Proto-West Germanic | hallju | the netherworld, the underworld, hell |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | haljō | the netherworld, the underworld, hell |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱel- | to cover; to incline |
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 |