An archaic or dialectal term meaning while holding something in your hand or during the time you're handling something.
Compound of 'hand' and 'while' (from Old English 'hwil,' a space of time). This is an extremely rare archaic term that's barely used in modern English.
This word is so archaic that even most dictionaries barely mention it—it's a perfect example of how language constantly loses words that become unnecessary, similar to how we don't say 'erstwhile' much anymore.
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