Handmade
adjectiveMade by hand rather than by machine, often implying care or craftsmanship.
How to spell handmade
8 letters · 2 syllables
How to pronounce handmade
Say the part in capitals loudest.
What does handmade mean?
- adjectiveMade by hand rather than by machine, often implying care or craftsmanship.
Handmade in a sentence
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The gift shop sold handmade candles and soaps.
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She wore a handmade scarf knitted by her grandmother.
Where does handmade come from?
Language of origin: Germanic
This is a transparent native English compound, built from two of the oldest words in the language. 'Hand' comes from Old English 'hond' or 'hand', a word shared across the Germanic languages for the part of the body, and 'made' is the past participle of 'make', from Old English 'macian', meaning 'to bring into being' or 'to form'. Joined together, the compound simply means 'made by hand' rather than by machine. English has formed such hand- compounds for centuries (handwriting, handbook, handcraft), and the spelling holds no surprises once you recognise that it is just the two familiar words run together with no joining vowel or hyphen. The only mild trap is remembering that the silent 'e' on 'made' survives in the compound and that there is no space between the parts.
How the word is built
- hand (the body part, used as the means)
- made (past participle of make)
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