handiwork

English

Alternative forms

• handywork (dated)

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Germanic *handuz

Proto-West Germanic *handu

Old English hand

Proto-Indo-European *ḱe?

Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm

Proto-Germanic *ga-

Proto-West Germanic *ga-

Old English ġe-

Proto-Indo-European *werǵ-

Proto-Indo-European *-om

Proto-Indo-European *wérǵom

Proto-Germanic *werką

Proto-West Germanic *werk

Old English weorc

Old English ġeweorc

Old English handġeweorc

Middle English hondywerk

English handiwork

From Middle English hondywerk, handiwerc, from Old English handġeweorc (“work done by hand, creation”), from hand (“hand”) + ġeweorc (“work”). Equivalent to hand +‎ work, though it may now be reinterpreted as handy (“skilful”) + work. Compare Saterland Frisian Hondwierk, Dutch handwerk, German Handwerk.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈhændiˌwɜːk/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈhændiˌwɝk/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

handiwork (usually uncountable, plural handiworks)

1. Work done by the hands.
2. A handmade object; a handicraft.

   The Museum of Popular Arts showcases Portugal's finest handiworks.

3. Work done personally.

   The street names are the handiwork of city planners.

   • 1901, Bible (American Standard) - Psalms 19:1

     The firmament showeth his handiwork.

4. The result of personal efforts.
   • 1939 September, D. S. Barrie, “The Railways of South Wales”, in Railway Magazine, page 163:

     Brunel's associations with the area have left a few examples of his handiwork or teaching in South Wales.

   • 2004 Fall, Laurence Claus, “The Antidiscrimination Eighth Amendment”, in Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy, volume 28, number 1, pages 119–168:

     As a primary architect of the draft Constitution that emerged from Philadelphia in 1787, Madison substantially bore the burden of defending his handiwork in his home state.

Synonyms

• (work done by the hands): handwork

Translations

work done by the hands

• Albanian: punëdore (sq)
• Bulgarian: ръкоделие (bg) n (răkodelie)
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 手工 (sau² gung¹)

  Mandarin: 手工 (zh) (shǒugōng)

• Finnish: käsityö (fi)
• Greek:

  Ancient Greek: χειρωναξία f (kheirōnaxía)

• Hungarian: kézzel végzett munka
• Indonesian: kerajinan tangan (id)
• Portuguese: trabalho manual m
• Russian: ручная рабо́та (ručnaja rabóta)
• Spanish: hechura (es)
• Telugu: చేసేత (te) (cēsēta), చేతిపని (cētipani)
• Turkish: el işi (tr)

handmade object; handicraft — see also handicraft

• Hungarian: kézimunka (hu)

the result of personal efforts

• Hungarian: (keze) munkája, műve