Handle

How to spell handle

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce handle

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does handle mean?

1. verbTo manage, deal with, or physically touch and control something.
2. nounThe part of an object designed to be held or grasped.

Handle in a sentence

• verb

  The new manager can handle several projects at once.

• noun

  The handle on the suitcase snapped off at the airport.

• verb

  Warehouse staff must handle fragile parcels with care.

• noun

  He wiped the door handle before turning it.

Where does handle come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

Handle comes straight from Old English, where the noun handle meant 'a part by which a thing is held' and was formed directly from hand, the same body-part word we still use, plus the suffix -le that Old English used to name instruments or tools. The verb handlian, meaning 'to touch, feel, or deal with using the hands', grew from the same root and is recorded well before the year 1000. Over the centuries the literal sense of touching broadened into the figurative one of 'managing' or 'dealing with' a situation, while the noun kept its concrete meaning of a grip or lever. Because the word is purely Germanic and built transparently on hand, its spelling is regular and rarely causes trouble. The modern slang sense of a 'handle' as a nickname or username simply reuses the idea of something by which a person can be grasped or referred to.

How the word is built

• hand (the hand)
• -le (Old English suffix forming instruments or repeated actions)