To join or secure by clasping hands; contracts or betrothals formalized by such a gesture, or those agreements themselves.
From Old English 'handfæstan' (to pledge by clasping hands) and Germanic 'hand' + 'fast.' Originally a legal and romantic practice where the hand-clasp itself constituted the binding agreement, predating written contracts and formal ceremonies.
Scottish law actually recognized 'handfasting' as a legal form of marriage for centuries—people could handfast for a trial period, and if they didn't like each other after a year, they could simply walk away, making it perhaps the earliest version of a 'trial marriage' contract.
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