handfast
A hold, grasp; custody, power of confining or keepingA hold, grasp; custody, power of confining or keeping.
Meaning
2 senses(obsolete)A hold, grasp; custody, power of confining or keeping.
(obsolete)A contract, agreement, covenant; specifically betrothal, espousal.
Handfest
Translations
3 languagesOrigin
From Middle English hondfast, past participle of Middle English hondfesten (“to betroth”),From Middle English hondfast, past participle of Middle English hondfesten (“to betroth”), from Old Norse handfesta (“to strike a bargain, pledge”), itself from hönd (“hand”) + festa (“to fasten, fix, affirm”), perhaps from a Proto-Indo-European root *pHst-.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Dictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.