Designed to be held and operated with one or both hands; portable and compact. Often used to describe electronic devices or tools.
Compound word formed from 'hand' (Old English 'hand') + 'held' (past participle of 'hold' from Old English 'healdan'). This modern compound emerged in the 20th century with the development of portable technology and tools.
The term 'handheld' revolutionized how we think about technology portability - it marked the transition from desktop-bound devices to truly mobile computing. The first handheld calculator in 1967 cost $2,500, equivalent to about $20,000 today, showing how remarkable our smartphone ubiquity really is.
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