HANDFAST

Etymology 1

Noun

handfast (plural handfasts)

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

(obsolete) A contract, agreement, covenant; specifically betrothal, espousal.

Verb

handfast (third-person singular simple present handfasts, present participle handfasting, simple past and past participle handfasted)

(transitive) To pledge; to bind

(transitive, Scotland, archaic or historical, except, Wicca) To betroth by joining hands, in order to allow for cohabitation before the celebration of marriage; to marry provisionally.

Adjective

handfast

(obsolete) Fast by contract; betrothed by joining hands.

Etymology 2

Adjective

handfast (comparative more handfast, superlative most handfast)

(rare) Strong; steadfast.

Source: Wiktionary


Hand"fast`, n.

1. Hold; grasp; custody; power of confining or keeping. [Obs.] Shak.

2. Contract; specifically, espousal. [Obs.]

Hand"fast`, a.

Definition: Fast by contract; betrothed by joining hands. [Obs.] Bale.

Hand"fast`, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Handfasted; p. pr. & vb. n. Handfasting.]

Definition: To pledge; to bind; to betroth by joining hands, in order to cohabitation, before the celebration of marriage. [Obs.]

Hand"fast`, n. Etym: [G. handfest; hand hand + fest strong. See Fast.]

Definition: Strong; steadfast.[R.] Carlyle.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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30 June 2025

BODILY

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Coffee Trivia

Some 16th-century Italian clergymen tried to ban coffee because they believed it to be “satanic.” However, Pope Clement VII loved coffee so much that he lifted the ban and had coffee baptized in 1600.

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