Greetings where two people grasp and shake each other's right hands; also used to mean agreements or deals.
Compound of hand + shake, a custom that emerged in medieval times to show warriors had no weapons and meant peace. The plural form indicates multiple instances or types of this gesture.
The handshake probably originated when knights would grasp hands to prove they weren't holding a sword—it's literally a gesture of 'I'm not going to fight you,' which is why it became a universal sign of agreement and trust.
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