Handgeweorc

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Something produced or accomplished by a person's own hands, especially a craft or manual labour
2. The product of manual skill, such as an object crafted or a task carried out personally rather than by machine
3. Work made by hands instead of machines, often used for a piece of craftsmanship or a personal achievement

Etymology: Handgeweorc is an Old English word, formed from "hand" and "geweorc," the latter meaning "work" or "deed," with the "ge-" prefix that Old English used to form collective and completed nouns. Together they meant "handiwork," or literally "hand-work," the labour of the hands as opposed to the labour of the mind. The compound is a plain piece of Germanic word-building, so its story lies in its parts rather than in any borrowing. Its descendant in modern English is "handiwork," a word that shifted from the physical act of making something to the product of that making. Older English also had "handwork" as a parallel formation, which survives today, though the Old English compound itself dropped out of use.