Where does “handle” come from?

handle (Middle English) comes from Old English handle, from Old English handlian, from Proto-West Germanic handulōn, from Proto-Germanic handlōną, from Proto-Germanic handuz — hand.

Ancestry of “handle”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishhandlea handle
2Old Englishhandlianto handle
3Proto-West Germanichandulōnto handle
4Proto-Germanichandlōnąto take or hold in the hand, seize, grip
5Proto-Germanichanduzhand
Every word from Proto-Germanic handuz →