Word Origin Atlas

Exact historical dictionary sense

Handle in Webster's 1913 dictionary

The 1913 record labels handle as noun. Its source-bounded etymology and selected historical definition appear below.

WEBSTER 1913noun
Handle

[AS. handle. See Hand.]

Cross-verified historical sense
The source text may be outdated. The page preserves that historical boundary.
Cross-verified 1913 record
Headwordhandle
Part of speechnoun
Historical etymology[AS. handle. See Hand.]
Selected historical definitionThat part of vessels, instruments, etc., which is held in the hand when used or moved, as the haft of a sword, the knob of a door, the bail of a kettle, etc.
Signed record IDwebster1913-handle-noun-006dfd3487d3
Source locatorCIDE.H, paragraph 960; Gutenberg eBook 663
Edition-scoped answerNot earliest-attestation proofNot modern consensus
Independent historical textProject Gutenberg section 663Signed structural record sourceGNU GCIDE 0.54 archive
Quick answer

In Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), "handle" is labeled noun. Its etymology is recorded as: "[AS. handle. See Hand.]" The selected historical definition says: "That part of vessels, instruments, etc., which is held in the hand when used or moved, as the haft of a sword, the knob of a door, the bail of a kettle, etc."

Project Gutenberg Webster 1913 plus signed GNU GCIDE 0.54 Exact cross-verified historical record reviewed 2026-10-04

What this answer proves

One named sense in one historical dictionary edition.

The answer reports the selected headword, part of speech, etymology, definition, and source locator as transcribed in the cross-verified 1913 record.

Evidence boundaryIt does not establish the earliest attestation or a complete borrowing chain.It does not claim current scholarly consensus or a modern dictionary definition.Historical dictionary text may be obsolete, incomplete, inaccurate, or offensive by modern standards.

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