second hand

See also: second-hand and secondhand

English

Etymology 1

second (ordinal) + hand (party)

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˌsɛkənd ˈhænd/
    • (file)

Adjective

second hand (not comparable)

  1. Alternative form of secondhand
Usage notes
  • secondhand and second-hand may be preferred spellings for the adjective meaning "not new", to avoid confusion with the noun "second hand" referring to the hand of a clock or watch.
Translations

Noun

second hand (plural second hands)

  1. An intermediate person or means; intermediary.
    • 1826, Walter Scott, editor, Memoirs of Jonathan Swift, D.D., Dean of St Patrick's, Dublin, page 135:
      “My Lord Oxford, by a second hand, proposed my being his chaplain, which I, by a second hand, excused.
    • 1832, James Sheridan Knowles, The Magdalen, and other tales, page 3:
      Under certain circumstances there is always a danger in a young man's playing the benefactor towards the other sex, in his own person. A thousand times better do it by a second hand — engage the services of some kind aunt or female cousin.
Derived terms

Etymology 2

second (unit of time) + hand (pointer)

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈsɛkənd ˌhænd/
    • (file)

Noun

second hand (plural second hands)

  1. On a clock or watch, the hand or pointer that shows the number of seconds that have passed.
    Coordinate terms: minute hand, hour hand
    • 2018 April 17, Bryan Camp, The City of Lost Fortunes, Titan Books, →ISBN, →OCLC:
      ... the ticking of a second hand. Tick, tick, tick. The clock. Jude wrenched himself free of his gift's trance, surprised that there wasn't a tearing sound when his hand came free of the doubloon. The visions fell away, and he felt his ...
Translations

References

Polish

Alternative forms

Etymology

Pseudo-anglicism, derived from second-hand clothing.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈsɛ.kɛnt xɛnt/

Noun

second hand m inan (related adjective secondhandowy)

  1. thrift shop (store that sells second-hand clothing)
    Synonyms: ciuchland, ciucholand, ciuszek, dziadownia, lump, lumpeks, szmaciak, szmateks

Declension

Further reading

  • second hand in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
  • second hand in Polish dictionaries at PWN
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