handling

Pluralhandlings (some meanings)

1. 1
   noununcountable

   The act of touching, controlling, managing, or caring for something with the hands, or in a way that resembles using the hands.

   Proper handling of laboratory chemicals prevents most accidents.

   The museum requires special handling for its oldest manuscripts.

   Similartreatment, care, management, use

   Note

   The sense closest to its Old English source, handlung, which was built like the modern word from handle plus -ing. Its continental cousins drifted toward action in general: German Handlung means "act," and Dutch handeling also covers "trade." English kept the hand in view. The word now sits easily in compounds of care and logistics such as baggage handling. Spenser's Faerie Queene (1590) praises a fighter's "faire handeling" that won the field.

2. 2
   verb

   Present participle and gerund of handle.

   The crew is handling the cargo during the night shift.

   He keeps handling the delicate equipment without gloves.

   Note

   The verb form shares its spelling with the noun, and what follows it is the test. The participle and the gerund take a direct object (handling the cargo, handling a delicate subject). The noun takes of (the handling of the cargo). The gerund carries every use of handle, from holding something in the hand to treating a theme in speech, writing or art.

3. 3
   noununcountable

   The criminal offense of trading in stolen goods: buying, selling, or otherwise dealing in property known to have been stolen.

   She received a two-year sentence for handling, having sold dozens of stolen laptops.

   Detectives linked the warehouse to a wider operation in handling.

   Similarfencing, receiving

4. 4
   nouncountable or uncountable

   The characteristic way an artist uses the pencil or brush, recognizable as an individual style of touch.

   Critics praised the delicate handling in his late portraits.

   The sketch shows a confident handling that few students ever achieve.

   Similartouch, technique, brushwork, execution

   Note

   A critic's word for the hand made visible on the surface: not what a picture shows, but how its marks were laid down. It usually pairs with a quality. Thackeray's Critical Reviews (1840) praises a miniature's "charming freedom of handling" alongside its brilliant color. Handling belongs to the artist's touch, while color and composition are separate matters, and reviews often weigh them side by side.

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