main

Meaning

1. hand
2. handball
3. hand
4. quire

Gender

♀️ Feminine

Pronounced as (IPA)

/mɛ̃/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle French main, Old French main, mein, man, from Latin manus (“hand”), from Proto-Italic *manus, perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *méh₂-r̥ ~ *mh₂-én-, derived from Proto-Indo-European *(s)meh₂- (“to beckon”), or perhaps from a Proto-Indo-European *mon-u- (see the Proto-Italic entry). Compare Spanish mano.

Sentences

Je sentis que Ned Land me glissait un poignard dans la main .

I felt Ned Land sliding a dagger into my hand.

L'enfant tête et tient d'une main le sein , de l'autre un chardonneret .

The child heads and holds the breast in one hand, a goldfinch in the other.