n. 1. a person's power or discretionary action; as, my fate is in your hands.
Syn. -- custody. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

2. The force of workers available; as, all hands on deck.
Syn. -- work force, manpower, men. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

A dictionary containing a natural history requires too many hands, as well as too much time, ever to be hoped for. Locke.

pos>n. A saw used with one hand. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. any unit of length based on the breadth of the human hand.
Syn. -- handbreath. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Handseled or Handselled p. pr. & vb. n. Handseling or Handselling. ] [ Written also hansel. ] [ OE handsellen, hansellen; cf. Icel. hadsala, handselja. See Handsel, n. ] 1. To give a handsel to. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To use or do for the first time, esp. so as to make fortunate or unfortunate; to try experimentally. [ 1913 Webster ]

No contrivance of our body, but some good man in Scripture hath handseled it with prayer. Fuller. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Written also hansel. ] [ OE. handsal, hansal, hansel, AS. handselena giving into hands, or more prob. fr. Icel. handsal; hand hand + sal sale, bargain; akin to AS. sellan to give, deliver. See Sell, Sale. ] 1. A sale, gift, or delivery into the hand of another; especially, a sale, gift, delivery, or using which is the first of a series, and regarded as an omen for the rest; a first installment; an earnest; as the first money received for the sale of goods in the morning, the first money taken at a shop newly opened, the first present sent to a young woman on her wedding day, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

Their first good handsel of breath in this world. Fuller. [ 1913 Webster ]

Our present tears here, not our present laughter,
Are but the handsels of our joys hereafter. Herrick. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Price; payment. [ Obs. ] Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

Handsel Monday, the first Monday of the new year, when handsels or presents are given to servants, children, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Electronics) The mouthpiece and earpiece of a communications device mounted on a single handle; as, when the telephone rings, pick up the handset.
Syn. -- French telephone. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

adj. sewn by hand rather than machine.
Syn. -- handstitched. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

a. [ Compar. Handsomer superl. Handsomest. ] [ Hand + -some. It at first meant, dexterous; cf. D. handzaam dexterous, ready, limber, manageable, and E. handy. ] 1. Dexterous; skillful; handy; ready; convenient; -- applied to things as persons. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

That they [ engines of war ] be both easy to be carried and handsome to be moved and turned about. Robynson (Utopia). [ 1913 Webster ]

For a thief it is so handsome as it may seem it was first invented for him. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Agreeable to the eye or to correct taste; having a pleasing appearance or expression; attractive; having symmetry and dignity; comely; -- expressing more than pretty, and less than beautiful; as, a handsome man or woman; a handsome garment, house, tree, horse. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Suitable or fit in action; marked with propriety and ease; graceful; becoming; appropriate; as, a handsome style, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

Easiness and handsome address in writing. Felton. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Evincing a becoming generosity or nobleness of character; liberal; generous. [ 1913 Webster ]

Handsome is as handsome does. Old Proverb. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. Ample; moderately large. [ 1913 Webster ]

He . . . accumulated a handsome sum of money. V. Knox. [ 1913 Webster ]

To do the handsome thing, to act liberally. [ Colloq. ]

Syn. -- Handsome, Pretty. Pretty applies to things comparatively small, which please by their delicacy and grace; as, a pretty girl, a pretty flower, a pretty cottage. Handsome rises higher, and is applied to objects on a larger scale. We admire what is handsome, we are pleased with what is pretty. The word is connected with hand, and has thus acquired the idea of training, cultivation, symmetry, and proportion, which enters so largely into our conception of handsome. Thus Drayton makes mention of handsome players, meaning those who are well trained; and hence we speak of a man's having a handsome address, which is the result of culture; of a handsome horse or dog, which implies well proportioned limbs; of a handsome face, to which, among other qualities, the idea of proportion and a graceful contour are essential; of a handsome tree, and a handsome house or villa. So, from this idea of proportion or suitableness, we have, with a different application, the expressions, a handsome fortune, a handsome offer. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To render handsome. [ Obs. ] Donne [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. 1. In a handsome manner. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Naut.) Carefully; in shipshape style. [ 1913 Webster ]