Definition: handle
handle
n : the appendage to an object that is designed to be held in
order to use or move it [syn: grip, handgrip, hold]
v 1: be in charge of, act on, or dispose of; "I can deal with
this crew of workers"; "This blender can't handle nuts";
"She managed her parents' affairs after they got too
old" [syn: manage, deal, care]
2: interact in a certain way; "Do right by her"; "Treat him
with caution, please"; "Handle the press reporters gently"
[syn: treat, do by]
3: deal with verbally or in some form of artistic expression;
"This book deals with incest"; "The course covered all of
Western Civilization"; "The new book treats the history of
China" [syn: cover, treat, plow, deal, address]
4: touch, lift, or hold with the hands [syn: palm]
5: handle effectively; "The burglar wielded an axe" [syn: wield]
6: hold and move repeatedly
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
Handle \Han"dle\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Handled; p. pr. & vb. n. Handling .] [OE. handlen, AS. handian; akin to D. handelen to trade, G. handeln. See Hand.] 1. To touch; to feel with the hand; to use or hold with the hand. Handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh. --Luke xxiv. 39. About his altar, handling holy things. --Milton. 2. To manage in using, as a spade or a musket; to wield; often, to manage skillfully. That fellow handles his bow like a crowkeeper. --Shak. 3. To accustom to the hand; to work upon, or take care of, with the hands. The hardness of the winters forces the breeders to house and handle their colts six months every year. --Sir W. Temple. 4. To receive and transfer; to have pass through one's hands; hence, to buy and sell; as, a merchant handles a variety of goods, or a large stock. 5. To deal with; to make a business of. They that handle the law knew me not. --Jer. ii. 8. 6. To treat; to use, well or ill. How wert thou handled being prisoner. --Shak. 7. To manage; to control; to practice skill upon. You shall see how I will handle her. --Shak. 8. To use or manage in writing or speaking; to treat, as a theme, an argument, or an objection. We will handle what persons are apt to envy others. --Bacon. To handle without gloves. See under Glove. [Colloq.]
Handle \Han"dle\, v. i.
To use the hands.
They have hands, but they handle not. --Ps. cxv. 7.
Handle \Han"dle\, n. [AS. handle. See Hand.] 1. That part of vessels, instruments, etc., which is held in the hand when used or moved, as the haft of a sword, the knob of a door, the bail of a kettle, etc. 2. That of which use is made; the instrument for effecting a purpose; a tool. --South. To give a handle, to furnish an occasion or means.
Source: The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (2003-OCT-10)
handle 1. <jargon> (From Citizen's Band amateur radio slang) An electronic pseudonym or "nom de guerre" intended to conceal the user's true identity. Network and BBS handles function as the same sort of simultaneous concealment and display one finds on CB. Use of grandiose handles is characteristic of crackers, weenies, spods, and other lower forms of network life; true hackers travel on their own reputations rather than invented legendry. Compare nick. 2.(Macintosh) A pointer to a pointer to dynamically-allocated memory. The extra level of indirection allows on-the-fly memory compaction (to cut down on fragmentation) or garbage collection of unused resources, with minimal impact on the (possibly multiple) parts of the larger program containing references to the allocated memory. Compare snap (to snap a handle would defeat its purpose). See also aliasing bug, dangling pointer. [Jargon File] (1995-02-28)
Source: Jargon File (4.3.1, 29 Jun 2001)
handle n. 1. [from CB slang] An electronic pseudonym; a `nom de guerre' intended to conceal the user's true identity. Network and BBS handles function as the same sort of simultaneous concealment and display one finds on Citizen's Band radio, from which the term was adopted. Use of grandiose handles is characteristic of warez d00dz, crackers, weenies, spods, and other lower forms of network life; true hackers travel on their own reputations rather than invented legendry. Compare nick, screen name. 2. A magic cookie, often in the form of a numeric index into some array somewhere, through which you can manipulate an object like a file or window. The form `file handle' is especially common. 3. [Mac] A pointer to a pointer to dynamically-allocated memory; the extra level of indirection allows on-the-fly memory compaction (to cut down on fragmentation) or aging out of unused resources, with minimal impact on the (possibly multiple) parts of the larger program containing references to the allocated memory. Compare snap (to snap a handle would defeat its purpose); see also aliasing bug, dangling pointer.
