Handselen

Part of speech: noun, verb

Definitions

1. Archaic verb meaning to begin or launch something by giving a gift or using it for the first time
2. An old word for christening a new venture, purchase, or custom with a token gift or initial use
3. Used in Middle English to mean to start off or hallow something with a first payment or ceremonial act

Etymology: Handselen is a Middle English and Old English-era spelling variant tied to the word "handsel," which Middle English writers used for a gift given at the start of something new, meant to bring good luck. The word combines "hand" with a suffix related to Old English "sellan," to give, so its literal sense is something like "a giving into the hand." The gift was a token that a new venture, year, or relationship would prosper, and the practice of marking beginnings with a small present lasted for centuries in England and Scotland. The sense of the first sale or first use of something gradually grew out of the older custom. A merchant's first customer of the day, for example, might be said to provide the handsel, and the first money taken was sometimes kept as a lucky charm. Over time the word also came to mean the first experience of anything, not only a gift. Its verb form, to handsel, meant to give a gift to mark a beginning, or to use something for the first time.

Synonyms: inaugurate, launch, premiere