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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

handfast.

A hold, grasp; custody, power of confining or keeping.

8 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun

  1. A hold, grasp; custody, power of confining or keeping.

    obsolete

  2. A contract, agreement, covenant; specifically betrothal, espousal.

    obsolete
Where this word comes from

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-.

verb

  1. To pledge; to bind.

    transitive

  2. To betroth by joining hands, in order to allow for cohabitation before the celebration of marriage; to marry provisionally.

    Scotland · transitive
Where this word comes from

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-.

adj

  1. Fast by contract; betrothed by joining hands.

    obsolete
Where this word comes from

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-.

adj

  1. Strong; steadfast.

    rare
Where this word comes from

Calque of German handfest, itself from Hand (“hand”) + fest (“firm, strong”).

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.