handy

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

• hăn'di
  Play
• /ˈhæn.di/
  Play
• US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  Play
• rhymes with -ændi
  Play
• CMU ARPABET: HH AE1 N D IY0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
  Play

From Middle English handy, hondi (attested in personal names), alteration of earlier hendi (“handy, skillful”), from Old English *hendiġ (“skillful”) (attested in listhendiġ (“skilled in art”)), from Proto-West Germanic *handīg, *handag, *handug, from Proto-Germanic *handugaz (“handy, skillful, nimble”), from *handuz (“hand”), equivalent to hand + -y. Cognate with Saterland Frisian jäntich (“handy”), Middle Low German handich (“skillful, apt”), Middle High German handec, hendec (“manual, hand-held”), Old Norse hǫndugr (“efficient”), Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐌽𐌳𐌿𐌲𐍃 (handugs, “wise, clever”). Akin to Dutch handig (“handy”), Norwegian hendig (“handy”), Swedish händig (“handy”).

Originating as a nickname for a handy person.

Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *handuz Proto-West Germanic *handu Old English hand Middle English hond English hand Proto-Germanic *-j-, *-ij- Proto-West Germanic *-i, *-ī Old English -iġ Middle English -y English -y English handy From hand + -y (diminutive suffix).

Clipping of handgun and hand job followed by -y (diminutive suffix).

Disputed; see German Handy: according to some commentators, this meaning is originally from German (a condensed form of Handfunktelefon), whereas others claim there was an early, but now neglected, antetype of it in English (from etymology 1).

106 source translations are retained for this English entry.

• Bulgarian: полезен (polezen) — easy to use
• Bulgarian: удобен (udoben) — easy to use
• Catalan: pràctic — easy to use
• Chinese Mandarin: 方便 (fāngbiàn) — easy to use
• Chinese Mandarin: 有用 (yǒuyòng) — easy to use
• Czech: praktický — easy to use
• Czech: užitečný — easy to use
• Dutch: handig — easy to use
• Finnish: kätevä — easy to use
• French: pratique — easy to use
• French: commode — easy to use
• German: anstellig — easy to use
• German: handlich — easy to use
• German: praktisch — easy to use
• Indonesian: praktis — easy to use
• Interlingua: utile — easy to use
• Interlingua: commode — easy to use
• Irish: sásta — easy to use
• Irish: acrach — easy to use
• Irish: áisiúil — easy to use
• Italian: utile — easy to use
• Italian: pratico — easy to use
• Japanese: 手軽な (tegaru na) — easy to use
• Japanese: 便利な (benri na) — easy to use
• Latin: utilis — easy to use
• Persian: سودمند (sudmand) — easy to use
• Persian: بهدردبخور (be-dard-boxor) — easy to use
• Plautdietsch: hendich — easy to use
• Polish: wygodny — easy to use
• Polish: dogodny — easy to use
• Portuguese: útil — easy to use
• Portuguese: prático — easy to use
• Romanian: îndemânatic — easy to use
• Russian: удо́бный (udóbnyj) — easy to use
• Russian: поле́зный (poléznyj) — easy to use
• Russian: практи́чный (praktíčnyj) — easy to use
• Russian: портати́вный (portatívnyj) — easy to use
• Russian: кста́ти (kstáti) — easy to use
• Scottish Gaelic: goireasach — easy to use
• Serbo-Croatian: надо̀мак — easy to use
• Serbo-Croatian: пра̀ктичан — easy to use
• Serbo-Croatian: nadòmak — easy to use
• Serbo-Croatian: pràktičan — easy to use
• Spanish: práctico — easy to use
• Spanish: hábil — easy to use
• Venetan: còmet — easy to use
• Bulgarian: под ръка (pod rǎka) — within reach
• Catalan: a mà — within reach
• Chinese Mandarin: 手頭 /手头 (shǒutóu) — within reach
• Chinese Mandarin: 近便 (jìnbiàn) — within reach
• Chinese Mandarin: 手邊 /手边 (shǒubiān) — within reach
• Czech: po ruce — within reach
• Dutch: binnen handbereik — within reach
• Dutch: bij de hand — within reach
• Finnish: käden ulottuvilla — within reach
• French: à portée de main — within reach
• German: in Reichweite — within reach
• German: griffbereit — within reach
• German: zur Hand — within reach
• Greek: εύκαιρος (éfkairos) — within reach
• Greek: πρόχειρος (prócheiros) — within reach
• Hebrew: זמין (zamín) — within reach
• Hungarian: kéznél — within reach
• Indonesian: terjangkau — within reach
• Irish: sásta — within reach
• Italian: comodo — within reach
• Japanese: 手近な (tedika na) — within reach
• Khmer: នៅជិតដៃ (nɨw-cɨt-day) — within reach
• Persian: در دسترس (dar dastres) — within reach
• Persian: دم دست (dam-e dast) — within reach
• Plautdietsch: hendich — within reach
• Polish: podręczny — within reach
• Portuguese: à mão — within reach
• Portuguese: fácil — within reach
• Romanian: la îndemână — within reach
• Serbo-Croatian: при́ручан — within reach
• Serbo-Croatian: príručan — within reach
• Spanish: a mano — within reach
• Spanish: cerca — within reach
• Bulgarian: сръчен (srǎčen) — dexterous
• Bulgarian: изкусен (izkusen) — dexterous
• Chinese Mandarin: 靈巧 /灵巧 (língqiǎo) — dexterous
• Chinese Mandarin: 麻利 (málì) — dexterous
• Czech: šikovný — dexterous
• Dutch: handig — dexterous
• Finnish: kätevä — dexterous
• Finnish: taitava — dexterous
• Indonesian: cakap — dexterous
• Indonesian: mahir — dexterous
• Irish: sásta — dexterous
• Japanese: 器用な (kiyō na) — dexterous
• Persian: ماهر (mâher) — dexterous
• Persian: حرفهای (herfe-i) — dexterous
• Romanian: îndemânatic — dexterous
• Russian: ло́вкий (lóvkij) — dexterous
• Russian: иску́сный (iskúsnyj) — dexterous
• Russian: уме́лый (umélyj) — dexterous
• Scottish Gaelic: tapaidh — dexterous
• Scottish Gaelic: deas — dexterous
• Serbo-Croatian: спре̏тан — dexterous
• Serbo-Croatian: sprȅtan — dexterous
• Spanish: hábil — dexterous
• Spanish: diestro — dexterous
• Spanish: mañoso — dexterous
• Spanish: apañado — dexterous
• Spanish: manitas — dexterous