handsel
- Noun. (obsolete) A lucky omen.
- Noun. A gift given at New Year, or at the start of some enterprise or new situation, meant to ensure good luck.
- Noun. The first installment, or first payment of money in a day or series.
- Verb. (transitive) To give a handsel to.
- Verb. (transitive) To inaugurate by means of some ceremony; to break in.
- Verb. (transitive) To use or do for the first time, especially so as to make fortunate or unfortunate; to try experimentally.
This is an unmodified, but possibly outdated, definition from Wiktionary and used here under the Creative Commons license. Wiktionary is a great resource. If you like it too, please donate to Wikimedia.
This entry was last updated on RefTopia from its source on 3/20/2012.