second hand
See also: second-hand and secondhand
English
Etymology 1
second (ordinal) + hand (“party”)
Alternative forms
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˌsɛkənd ˈhænd/
Audio (Southern England): (file)
Adjective
- Alternative form of secondhand.
Usage notes
- The words secondhand and second-hand may be the preferred forms for the adjective meaning not new, in order to avoid confusion with the noun second hand, referring to the hand of a clock or watch.
Related terms
Translations
secondhand — see secondhand
Noun
second hand (plural second hands)
- An intermediate person or means; intermediary.
- 1826, Walter Scott, editor, Memoirs of Jonathan Swift, D.D., Dean of St Patrick's, Dublin[1], 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[2], 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/
Audio (Southern England): (file)
Noun
second hand (plural second hands)
- On the clock face of a clock or watch, the hand (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[3], 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
the hand or pointer that shows the number of seconds that have passed
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See also
References
- “second hand”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
Polish
Alternative forms
Etymology
Pseudo-anglicism, derived from second-hand clothing.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈsɛ.kɛnt ˈxɛnt/
- Syllabification: [please specify syllabification manually]
Noun
second hand m inan (related adjective secondhandowy)
- thrift shop (store that sells second-hand clothing)
Declension
Declension of second hand
singular | plural | |
---|---|---|
nominative | second hand | second handy |
genitive | second handu | second handów |
dative | second handowi | second handom |
accusative | second hand | second handy |
instrumental | second handem | second handami |
locative | second handzie | second handach |
vocative | second handzie | second handy |
Further reading
- second hand in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
- second hand in Polish dictionaries at PWN