Definition of "handsel" [hand•sel]

• A gift to express good wishes at the beginning of a new year or enterprise. (noun)
• The first money or barter taken in, as by a new business or on the opening day of business, especially when considered a token of good luck. (noun)
• A first payment. (noun)
• A specimen or foretaste of what is to come. (noun)
• To give a handsel to. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "What a handsel is this dead hound, after I had rejoiced in its weight266!"
• "He would instantly give him a 'handsel' of harrying to stay his proud stomach."
• "“But these gentlemen,” said Trois Eschelles, looking towards the chimney, “do not these help, and so take a handsel of our vocation?”"