handiwork

English

Alternative forms

• handywork (dated)

Etymology

From Middle English hondywerk, handiwerc, from Old English handġeweorc (“work done by hand, creation”), from hand (“hand”) + ġeweorc (“work”), equal to hand +‎ 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.
   • 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 (rǎkodelie)
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 手工 (sau² gung¹)

  Mandarin: 手工 (zh) (shǒugōng)

• Finnish: käsityö (fi)
• Greek:

  Ancient: 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