unhand

English

Etymology

un- +‎ hand

Pronunciation
  • (UK) IPA(key): /ʌnˈhænd/
  • Rhymes: -ænd

Verb

unhand (third-person singular simple present unhands, present participle unhanding, simple past and past participle unhanded)

  1. To release from the hand; to let go.
    • 1798, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Rime of the Ancient Mariner, part 1, lines 9-12:
      He holds him with his skinny hand,
      "There was a ship," quoth he.
      "Hold off! unhand me, grey-beard loon!"
      Eftsoons his hand dropt he.
    • 1853, Oliver Optic, Hatchie, The Guardian Slave or The Heiress of Bellevue. A Tale of the Mississippi and the South-west‎, B. B. Mussey and Company, and R. B. Fitts and Company, Chapter XXX, page 305:
      “Unhand' the lady!” said Vernon, in a severe tone, as, at the same time, he draw from his pocket a pistol. “Unhand her!” and he approached the lawyer
    • 2008, Anne Gracie, The Stolen Princess‎, Berkley Books, →ISBN, Chapter Two, page 33:
      As he dried the last toe, she said, “Thank you. You may now unhand my feet”

Translations
to release from the hand; to let go — see release,‎ let go
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