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Added 9 October 2026

handcuff

/ˈhændˌkʌf/ noun

noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about handcuff at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

One ring of a locking fetter for the hand or one pair.

verb

To apply handcuffs to someone.
to restrain or restrict.
Dang, I’m handcuffed by these regulations. I’d like to help but it’d be illegal.

Origin

From hand + cuff (“end of shirtsleeve”). Possibly an adaptation of Middle English handcops (“shackles for the hand, handcuffs”), from Old English handcops, from hand + cops, cosp (“fetter, chains”), but due to a lack of continuity (centuries between Old English and the modern term), generally analyzed as a re-invention. Nominal form first appears c. 1591 in the publications of John Florio. Verbal form first appears c. 1649.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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