hand ( h²nd) n. 1. a. The terminal part of the human arm located below the forearm, used for grasping and holding and consisting of the wrist, palm, four fingers, and an opposable thumb. b. A homologous or similar part in other animals, as the terminal part of the forelimb in certain vertebrates. 2. A unit of length equal to 4 inches (10.2 centimeters), used especially to specify the height of a horse. 3. Something suggesting the shape or function of the human hand, especially: a. Any of the rotating pointers used as indexes on the face of a mechanical clock. b. A pointer, as on a gauge or dial. 4. Printing See index . 5. Lateral direction indicated according to the way in which one is facing: at my right hand. 6. A style or individual sample of writing. 7. A round of applause to signify approval. 8. Physical assistance; help: gave me a hand with the bags. 9. Games a. The cards held in a card game by a given player at any time. b. The number of cards dealt each player; the deal. c. A player or participant in a card game: We need a fourth hand for bridge. d. A portion or section of a game during which all the cards dealt out are played: a hand of poker. 10. a. One who performs manual labor: a factory hand. b. One who is part of a group or crew: the ship's hands. 11. A participant in an activity, often one who specializes in a particular activity or pursuit: called for more hands to decorate the Christmas tree; an old hand at labor negotiations. 12. a. The degree of immediacy of a source of information; degree of reliability: probably heard the scandalous tale at third hand. b. The strength or force of one's position: negotiated from a strong hand. 13. Often hands a. Possession, ownership, or keeping: The books should be in your hands by noon. b. Power; jurisdiction; care: The defendant's fate is in the hands of the jury. Dinner is in the hands of the chef. 14. a. Involvement or participation: " In all this was evident the hand of the counterrevolutionaries " John Reed b. An influence or effect: The general manager had a hand in all the major decisions. c. Evidence of craft or artistic skill: can see the hand of a genius even in the lighter poems. 15. An aptitude or ability: I tried my hand at decorating. 16. The aesthetic feel or tactile quality of something, such as a fabric, textile, or carpeting, that indicates its fineness, texture, and durability. 17. A manner or way of performing something: a light hand with makeup. 18. a. Permission or a promise, especially a pledge to wed. b. A commitment or an agreement, especially when sealed by a handshake; one's word: You have my hand on that. v. tr. hand·ed hand·ing hands 1. To give or pass with or as if with the hands; transmit: Hand me your keys. 2. To aid, direct, or conduct with the hands: The usher handed the patron to a reserved seat. 3. Nautical To roll up and secure (a sail); furl.

Phrasal Verbs: hand down 1. To bequeath as an inheritance to one's heirs. 2. To make and pronounce an official decision, especially a court verdict. hand on 1. To turn over to another. hand out 1. To distribute freely; disseminate. 2. To administer or deal out. hand over 1. To release or relinquish to another.

Idioms: at hand 1. Close by; near. 2. Soon in time; imminent: Retribution is at hand. at the hand or at the hands of 1. Performed by someone or through the agency of someone. by hand 1. Performed manually. hand it to Informal 1. To give credit to: You've got to hand it to her; she knows what she's doing. in hand 1. Under control: The project is well in hand. 2. Accessible at the present time. 3. In preparation. off (one's) hands 1. No longer under one's jurisdiction, within one's responsibility, or in one's care: We finally got that project off our hands. on hand 1. Available. on (one's) hands or upon (one's) hands 1. In one's possession, often as an imposed responsibility or burden: Now they have the grandchildren on their hands. on the one hand 1. As one point of view; from one standpoint. on the other hand 1. As another point of view; from another standpoint. out of hand 1. Out of control: Employee absenteeism has gotten out of hand. 2. At once; immediately. 3. Over and done with; finished. 4. Uncalled for or improper; indiscreet. to hand 1. Nearby. 2. In one's possession. [Middle English from Old English] hand "er n. hand "less adj.

deal 1 ( d¶l) v. dealt ( dµlt) deal·ing deals v. tr. 1. To give out as a share or portion; apportion. 2. To distribute among several recipients. See note at distribute . 3. To sell: deal prescriptions; deal cocaine. 4. To administer; deliver: dealt him a blow to the stomach. 5. Games a. To distribute (playing cards) among players. b. To give (a specific card) to a player while so distributing. v. intr. 1. To be occupied or concerned; treat: a book that deals with the Middle Ages. 2. To behave in a specified way toward another or others; have transactions: deal honestly with competitors. 3. To take action with respect to someone or something: The committee will deal with this complaint. See note at treat . 4. To do business; trade: dealing in diamonds. 5. Games To distribute playing cards. n. 1. The act or a round of apportioning or distributing. 2. Games a. Distribution of playing cards. b. The cards so distributed; a hand. c. The right or turn of a player to distribute the cards. d. The playing of one hand. 3. An indefinite quantity, extent, or degree: has a great deal of experience. 4. An agreement often arranged secretly, as in business or politics. 5. a. A business transaction. b. An agreement, especially one that is mutually beneficial. See note at bargain . 6. Informal A sale favorable especially to the buyer; a bargain. 7. Informal Treatment received: a raw deal; a fair deal. [Middle English delen from Old English dÆlan to divide, share; See dail- in Indo-European Roots.]

deal 2 ( d¶l) n. 1. a. A fir or pine board cut to standard dimensions. b. Such boards or planks considered as a group. 2. Fir or pine wood. [Middle English dele from Middle Dutch Middle Low German dele plank]

dail- . Important derivatives are: deal 1 ordeal To divide. I. Northern Indo-European root extended from *da( …)i- (see d ³-). 1. DEAL 1 , from Old English d Ælan, to share, from Germanic *dailjan . 2. DOLE 1 , from Old English d ³l, portion, lot, from Germanic *dailaz . 3. ORDEAL , from Old English ord ³l, trial by ordeal, from Germanic prefixed form *uz-dailjam , " a portioning out, " judgment ( *uz- , out; see ud- ). 4. FIRKIN , from Middle Dutch deel , part, from Germanic *dailiz .[ In Pokorny d ³- 175. ]

di·al ( dº"…l) n. 1. A graduated surface or face on which a measurement, such as speed, is indicated by a moving needle or pointer. 2. a. The face of a clock. b. A sundial. 3. a. The panel or face on a radio or television receiver on which the frequencies or channels are indicated. b. A movable control knob or other device on a radio or television receiver used to change the frequency. 4. A rotatable disk on a telephone with numbers and letters, used to signal the number to which a call is made. v. di·aled or di·alled di·al·ing or di·al·ling di·als or di·als v. tr. 1. To measure with or as if with a dial. 2. To point to, indicate, or register by means of a dial. 3. To control or select by means of a dial. 4. To call (a party) on a telephone. v. intr. 1. To use a dial, as on a telephone. [Middle English sundial, clock from Old French dyal from Medieval Latin di³le from di³lis daily from Latin di¶s day; See deiw- in Indo-European Roots.] di "al·er n.

deiw- . Important derivatives are: Tuesday deity divine jovial July Jupiter Zeus dial diary dismal journey psychedelic To shine (and in many derivatives, " sky, heaven, god "). I. Noun *deiwos , god. 1. a. TIU , ( TUESDAY ), from Old English T ºw (genitive T ºwes), god of war and sky; b. TYR , from Old Norse T þr, sky god. Both a and b from Germanic *T ºwaz. 2. DEISM , DEITY , DEUS , JOSS ; ADIEU , DEIFIC , from Latin deus , god. 3. DIVA , DIVINE , from Latin d ºvus, divine, god. 4. DIVES , from Latin d ºves, rich ( < " fortunate, blessed, divine "). 5. Suffixed zero-grade form *diw-yo- , heavenly. DIANA , from Latin Di ³na, moon goddess. 6. DEVI ; DEODAR , DEVANAGARI , from Sanskrit de- va ¡/, god, and deva- , divine. II. Variant *dyeu- , Jove, the name of the god of the bright sky, head of the Indo-European pantheon. 1. JOVE , JOVIAL , from Latin Iovis , Jupiter, or Iov- , stem of Iuppiter , Jupiter. 2. JULY , from Latin I ¿lius, " descended from Jupiter " (name of a Roman gens), from derivative *iou-il- . 3. Vocative compound *dyeu-p …ter-, " O father Jove " ( *p …ter-, father; see p …ter-). JUPITER , from Latin Iuppiter , I ¿piter, head of the Roman pantheon. 4. DIONE , ZEUS ; DIOSCURI , from Greek Zeus (genitive Dios ), Zeus. III. Variant *dy ¶- ( < *dye …-). DIAL , DIARY , DIET 2 , DISMAL , DIURNAL ; ADJOURN , CIRCADIAN , ( JOURNAL ), ( JOURNEY ), MERIDIAN , ( POSTMERIDIAN ), QUOTIDIAN , SOJOURN , from Latin di ¶s, day. IV. Variant *dei …-. PSYCHEDELIC , from Greek d ¶los, ( < *deyalos ), clear. [ Pokorny 1. dei- 183. ]

du·al ( d›"…l, dy ›"-) adj. 1. Composed of two usually like or complementary parts; double: dual controls for pilot and copilot; a car with dual exhaust pipes. 2. Having a double character or purpose: a belief in the dual nature of reality. 3. Grammar Of, relating to, or being a number category that indicates two persons or things, as in Greek, Sanskrit, and Old English. n. Grammar 1. The dual number. 2. An inflected form of a noun, adjective, pronoun, or verb used with two items or people. [Latin du³lis from duo two; See dwo- in Indo-European Roots.] du "al·ly adv.

dwo- . Important derivatives are: two twelve twilight biscuit twist twice twenty twine between twin binary combine twig 1 diploma deuce 1 dozen dual duet double duplicate doubt dubious Two. I. Variant form *duwo . 1. a. TWO , from Old English tw á, two (nominative feminine and neuter); b. TWAIN , from Old English tw ¶gen, two (nominative and accusative masculine). Both a and b from Germanic *twa , two. 2. TWELFTH , TWELVE , from Old English twelf , twelve, and twelfta , twelfth, from Germanic compound *twa-lif- , " two left (over from ten), " twelve ( *-lif- , left; see leik w -). II. Adverbial form *dwis and combining form *dwi- . 1. a. TWIBILL , TWILIGHT , from Old English twi- , two; b. ZWIEBACK , ZWITTERION , from Old High German zwi- , twice. Both a and b from Germanic *twi- . 2. BI- 1 , BIS ; BALANCE , BAROUCHE , BEZEL , BISCUIT , from Latin bis (combining form bi- ), twice. 3. DI- 1 , from Greek dis (combining form di- ), twice. 4. TWIST , from Old English -twist , divided object, fork, rope, from Germanic *twis . 5. TWICE , from Old English twige , twiga , twice, from Germanic *twiyes . 6. TWENTY , from Old English tw ¶ntig, twenty, from Germanic compound *tw ¶gentig, " twice ten " ( *-tig , ten; see dek ©). 7. TWINE , from Old English tw ºn, double thread, from Germanic *tw ºhna, double thread, twisted thread. 8. BETWEEN , BETWIXT , ( TWIXT ), from Old English betw ¶onum and betweox , betwix , between, from Germanic compounds *bi-tw ºhna and *bi-twisk , " at the middle point of two " ( bi , at, by; see ambhi ). 9. TWILL , from Old English twilic , woven of double thread, from Germanic compound *twilic- , " two-threaded fabric. " 10. Suffixed form *dwis-no- . a. TWIN , from Old English twinn , getwinn , two by two, twin, from Germanic *twisnaz , double; b. BI- , BINAL , BINARY ; COMBINE , from Latin b ºnº, two by two, two each. 11. Suffixed form *dwi-ko- . TWIG 1 , from Old English twigge , a branch, from Germanic *twig(g)a , a fork. 12. Compound *dwi-plo- , twofold ( *-plo- , -fold; see pel- 2 ). DIPLO- , DIPLOE , DIPLOID , DIPLOMA ; ANADIPLOSIS , from Greek diploos , diplous , twofold. 13. Suffixed reduplicated form *dwi-du-mo- . DIDYMIUM , DIDYMOUS ; EPIDIDYMIS , TETRADYMITE , from Greek didumos , double, the testicles. 14. Suffixed form *dwi-gha . DICHASIUM , DICHO- , from Greek dikha , in two. III. Inflected form *duw ½. 1. DEUCE 1 , DOZEN , DUAL , DUET , DUO , DUO- ; DUODECIMAL , from Latin duo , two. 2. DUAD , DYAD ; DODECAGON , HENDIADYS , from Greek duo , du ½, two. IV. Variant form *du- . 1. Compound *du-plo- , twofold ( *-plo- , -fold; see pel- 2 ). DOUBLE , ( DOUBLET ), DOUBLOON , DUPLE , from Latin duplus , double. 2. Compound *du-plek- , twofold ( *-plek- , -fold; see plek- ). DUPLEX , DUPLICATE , DUPLICITY ; CONDUPLICATE , from Latin duplex , double. 3. Suffixed form *du-bhw-io- . DOUBT , DUBIOUS ; ( REDOUBTABLE ), from Latin dubius , doubtful ( < " hesitating between two alternatives "), and dubit ³re, to be in doubt. [ Pokorny d ø½(u)- 228. ]