Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Easily or effectively used; convenient or useful.
  • adjective Easy to manage or handle. Used of a ship.
  • adjective Readily accessible or convenient in location.
  • adjective Skillful in using one's hands; manually adroit. synonym: dexterous.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Performed by the hand; manual.
  • Skilful in using the hands; performing with skill or readiness; dexterous; adroit.
  • Marked by readiness or dexterity; deft; facile.
  • Suited to the use of the hand; ready to the hand; convenient; timely: as, my books are very handy; this is a handy tool.
  • [Handy in composition, in some words formed in imitation of handywork, handiwork, is a variant of hand. See following entries.] Synonyms Expert, clever.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective obsolete Performed by the hand.
  • adjective Skillful in using the hand; dexterous; ready; adroit.
  • adjective Ready to the hand; near; also, suited to the use of the hand; convenient; valuable for reference or use
  • adjective (Naut.) Easily managed; obedient to the helm; -- said of a vessel.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Easy to use, useful.
  • adjective Nearby, within reach.
  • adjective dialect dexterous, skilful

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective skillful with the hands
  • noun United States blues musician who transcribed and published traditional blues music (1873-1958)
  • adjective easy to use
  • adjective easy to reach

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English, alteration of earlier hendi ("handy, skillful"), from Old English hendiġ ("skillful") (as in listhendiġ ("skilled in art")), from Proto-Germanic *handugaz (“handy, skillful, nimble”), from *handuz (“hand”), equivalent to hand +‎ -y. Cognate with Middle Low German handich ("skillful, apt"), Middle High German handec, hendec ("manual, hand-held"), Old Norse hǫndugr ("efficient"), Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐌽𐌳𐌿𐌲𐍃 (handugs, "wise, clever").

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Examples

  • The only time shutdown - a comes in handy is when there's a countdown timer on screen, started by Windows.

    How To Stop Windows From Shutting Down | Lifehacker Australia 2009

  • There is a very interesting book on this subject, sorry don't have the title handy, google is your friend.

    Sanders Stands Up For Logic in Bushworld 2009

  • Unfortunately I didn't have the title handy when I blogged about it.

    September 11 Bill Crider 2006

  • The ubiquitous term handy which every German speaker automatically assumes to be a genuine English term.

    languagehat.com: THE END OF THE WORLD. 2004

  • Where it really comes in handy is file open/save dialogs or any Explorer window — you can simply use the middle-click function to show the menu, and once you’ve selected something, Folder Menu will automatically navigate to the correct folder from within the dialog.

    Folder Menu Is A Powerful Folder Switching Tool | Lifehacker Australia 2009

  • Another time this will come in handy is if you’re cooking at a friend’s home where they don’t stock the same spices that you do, and you’re trying to season a favorite dish.

    Foodie Survival Kit | Baking Bites 2009

  • A fun exercise for intro level physics students is to read a paper that came out in scientific American a few years ago I’m sorry but I don’t have the title handy on MOND.

    Why science literacy is in trouble - The Panda's Thumb 2010

  • We have a recording of this conversation, but I’ll keep your name handy so we’ll know who to blame if the facts in your article are wrong.

    Lake News Barbara Delinsky 1999

  • We have a recording of this conversation, but I’ll keep your name handy so we’ll know who to blame if the facts in your article are wrong.

    Lake News Barbara Delinsky 1999

  • Their efforts have come in handy for several young children, who reported that they knew how to react when they encountered fire in their own homes.

    Rescued Dog 'Sparkles' Teaches Children About Fire Safety Erica Liepmann 2010

Comments

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  • German for cellphone.

    January 9, 2008