uphand

English

Etymology

From up- +‎ hand.

Adjective

uphand (not comparable)

1. (rare) Designed to be lifted by the hand, or by both hands

   the uphand sledge

2. With an upward movement of the hand.
   • 1835, John Donald Carrick, The Laird of Logan; Or, Wit of the West:

     Girzie, when in her barleyhoods, was apt to enforce her commands with uphand emphases, and Andrew came in for a due share of this practical elocution, and always proved himself as quiet and submissive a disciple as ever fell under a "continual dropping," since the days of the man of Uz.

   • 1846, Cricket. Sketches of the players, page 3:

     There was not anything like it either for extraordinary rapidity of pace with the uphand bowling, or accuracy of length and general steadiness.

   • 1888, The history of Arthur Penreath, page 162:

     I called, as soon as the struggle was over, for Poor Tom, but for a long time nothing could be seen of him or his raven; at last a call from John Lee, who, like myself, was unhurt, told me he was found, and close outside the hovel where the women and children who had been carried off by the moor men had been shut up, and who we happily rescued, Poor Tom lay locked close in the arms of a moor man, through whose heart he had driven the Spanish knife, and who had ripped him open by one uphand cut, from the bottom of his belly to the top of his chest.

   • 2002, Catherine Hart, Fire and Ice, →ISBN, page 359:

     They sparred heavily for nearly ten minutes, neither gaining the advantage until Kathleen, with one furious uphand stroke, snapped Reed's blade in two near the hilt.

3. (welding) Starting from the bottom and working upwards
   • 1932, Railway Engineering and Maintenance - Volume 27, page 43:

     Downhand welding is preferable to uphand welding as it insures better fusion and greater speed.

   • 1967, W. J. Patton, The science and practice of welding, page 29:

     In uphand welding, the previously deposited metal is used as a step to hold up the molten metal, making possible a heavier deposit. Slag flows away from the molten pool and is less likely to be trapped in the metal during uphand welding.

   • 2008, Andrew Clennel Palmer, Roger A. King, Subsea Pipeline Engineering, →ISBN, page 131:

     When welding thick pipe, the weld may be formed from the bottom up by uphand welding.

4. Characterized by pushing upwards with a hand or hands.
   • 1855, United States Circuit Court (Rhode Island), Horace H. Day vs. Isaac Hartshorn, et al:

     A man to roll rubber off from that, I think, would find rather an uphand business — pushing his hands against the rubber.

   • 1917, Thomas Forsyth Hunt, Charles William Burkett, Farm Animals: Covering the General Field of Animal Industry, page 407:

     What is desirable is to imitate the calf in sucking; the hand is to be not only sharply closed against the teat, but vigorous uphand pressure against the udder is to be made at the same time.

5. (rare, of soil) Enriched; fertile.
   • 1905, Quarterly Report of the Kansas State Board of Agriculture, volume 19:

     My land is uphand black loam, which I value at fifty dollars per acre, and three crops is the most I have grown consecutively on the same ground.

   • 2004, Arvind Kumar, Environment and Health, →ISBN, page 138:

     Intercropping with cowpea exerted an uphand influence on the soil available N (223 and 236 kg/ha) considerable, build up in the soil available N was noticed with the sorghum + cowpea intercropping system in a ratio of 3:1 which is probably due to the beneficial effect of continuous legume intercropping.

Adverb

uphand (not comparable)

1. (welding) From bottom to top.
   • 1945, Industry and Welding - Volume 18, page 80:

     One hundred per cent penetration can be obtained by welding in a slight vertical weld uphand on metal up to eight gages.

   • 2013, Yong Zhou, Pipeline and Energy Plant Piping: Design and Technology, →ISBN, page 194:

     It is made uphand, pushing the arc with the torch steeply inclined 15° to 20° to the pipe.

2. Moved by hand in an upward direction.
   • 1951, Wake: The Creative Magazine - Issues 10-12, page 53:

     As by a leaf to fling On the glass of wind Or up transparent leaf-sides over and over Uphand to swing Into the airy sockets of light And the broad plates tread like a bird Kissing light.

   • 1992, High Fidelity News and Record Review:

     ...noise shifted uphand by the noise shaper) are responsible for the observed filter ripples and a notable roll-off of the ...

Verb

uphand (third-person singular simple present uphands, present participle uphanding, simple past and past participle uphanded)

1. To lift with an upward movement of the hands.
   • 1866, C[harles] Kingsley, Hereward the Wake, “Last of the English.” […], volume I, London, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Macmillan and Co., →OCLC, page 145:

     To high heaven, all so softly, / The angels uphand him; / In meads of May flowers / Mild Mary will meet him: […]

   • 1981, Jack Solomon, Olivia Solomon, Ghosts and Goosebumps, →ISBN:

     But she say sho could uphand anything brought befo' her so I asked her to work on me.

2. To strike from below with the hand or fist.
   • 2010, Brad Strickland, Flight of the Outcast: The Academy, Year 1, →ISBN, page 96:

     Before he had hit, she sprang upright, feinted so that Gull's quick blow whooshed harmlessly past her cheek, and uphanded his chin, stunning him and sending him reeling against Kayser, who had stepped back.

3. To uphold, promote, or sustain.
   • 1843, Journey to the Phalanx, page 24:

     Aweel, Jock, I'se no say but we've had mony an up an mony a doon i' life, but there's ae comfort whilk uphands me aboon ilka ither thocht, an its e'en this: Ye married yer Elsie, Jock, frae doonright sheer love an naething mair nor less, an Elsie gae her hail heart an its life's bluid to ye whan she gae'd awa her hond.

   • 1859, John Wilson, The Recreations of Christopher North:

     He's nae Moderate, man; and gin I'm no sair mistaen, he's a wild man himsel, and wull uphand the Veto.

   • 1870, The Christian world magazine (and family visitor). - Volume 6, page 347:

     Some o' Bible words are no' for every-day use, an' ye might have respected the Holy Scripters mair than to use 'em for uphanding o' yer ain mad clavers.

   • 1890, Hugh Blair Grigsby, Robert Alonzo Brock, The History of the Virginia Federal Convention of 1788:

     This conduct may probably be uphanded as injurious to my own views ; if it be so, it is at least the natural offspring of my judgment.

   • 1902, Randolph Keim De Benneville, La Fayette, the man of two worlds:

     Sire, the will to dare, their weapons weak, In spirit the State uphanded to success.

   • 1910, Alfred Harmsworth Northcliffe, The World's Greatest Books, page 272:

     What signifies keeping the poor lassie in a swither? I'se uphand it's been Robertson that learned ye that doctrine.

4. To raise the hands.
   • 1918, Alfred Emanuel Smith, Francis Walton, New Outlook - Volume 120, page 425:

     But the whole thirty-three uphanded and cried, “Mercy, Kamerad '"

Noun

uphand (uncountable)

1. (obsolete) The upper hand.
   • 1848, The standard Orange song book, page 175:

     Such monsters as these have all been, Our fathers and mothers have known : If that they should get the uphand, Us Protestants they would all smother

   • 1884, Charles A. Federer, The Ballad of Flodden Field: A Poem of the XVIth Century, page 44:

     Or else to death he had been dight, While th' house of York had the uphand.

   • 1932, Bradstreet's Journal - Volume 60, Issues 2802-2824, page 1506:

     Politics seem to have had an uphand over business...