Where does “secondhandedness” come from?

secondhandedness (English) comes from English secondhanded, from English handed, from English Hand, from Middle English hond, from Old English hand, from Proto-West Germanic handu, from Swedish hand, from Old Swedish hand — hand.

secondhandedness (English): The state of being secondhand

Definitions

  1. The state of being secondhand

Ancestry of “secondhandedness”, step by step

secondhandedness traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English secondhanded

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishsecondhandedSecondhand; Ersatz; In second place, repeating...
2EnglishhandedHaving a certain kind or number of hands; Having...
3EnglishHandThe part of the forelimb below the forearm or wrist in a human, and the corresponding part in many other animals
4Middle Englishhondhand; Alternative form of hound
5Old EnglishhandA hand
6Proto-West Germanichanduhand
7SwedishhandA hand; A hand; the set of cards held by a player
8Old SwedishhandA hand; A direction; A behalf
9Old Norsehǫndhand
10Proto-Germanichanduzhand

via English Ness

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishNessAn Ulster princess and the mother of Conchobar mac Nessa and Findchoem in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. Daughter of Eochaid Sálbuide. Also the mother of Cormac Cond Longas by incest with Conchobar mac Nessa
2Middle Englishnesse
3Old Englishnæsnot, not at all; not; first/third-person singular...
4Proto-Germanicnasjąfoothill; headland; cape
5Proto-Indo-Europeannéh₂snose
Every word from Proto-Germanic handuz