Where does “handshake” come from?
I need to trace the etymology chain for "handshake" following the given path, but I notice the chain provided traces "hand" and "shake" separately back through their respective roots, ultimately to different Proto-Indo-European stems.
However, I cannot write an accurate one-sentence etymology for "handshake" based on this chain because:
1. "Handshake" is a compound word (hand + shake), but the chain only traces individual elements
2. The chain shows "hand" deriving from Proto-Germanic *hundą, while "shake" derives from Old English *sċeacan with a different ultimate origin
3. The rules require naming "every language in the chain in order," but this chain mixes two separate etymological paths without showing how they recombine
To write an accurate summary following your rules, I would need either:
- A single unified chain for "handshake" as a compound
handshake (English): The grasping of hands by two people when...
Definitions
- The grasping of hands by two people when...
Ancestry of “handshake”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | Hand | — |
| 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 |
Words derived from “handshake”