handle

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
handle/ˈhandl/

▶verb

• 1 feel or manipulate with the hands.

• 2 manage or cope with (a situation, person, or problem).

  ■ control or manage commercially.

  ■ deal with.

  ■ receive or deal in (stolen goods).

• 3 drive or control a vehicle.

  ■ (of a vehicle) respond or behave in a specified way when being driven: the new model does not handle well.

• 4 (handle oneself) conduct oneself.

▶noun

• 1 the part by which a thing is held, carried, or controlled.

  ■ a means of understanding, controlling, or approaching a person or situation: it'll give people some kind of handle on these issues.

• 2 informal the name of a person or place.

• 3 the feel of textiles when handled.

• 4 US informal the total amount of money bet over a particular time or at a particular event.

– derivatives
handleability /-ˈbɪlɪti/ noun,
handleable adjective,
-handled adjective,
handleless adjective,
handling noun.

– origin OE handle (n.), handlian (v.), from hand.