handhaben

Etymology
From (1349). The earliest sense is “to keep, protect, maintain”, hence eventually a loan translation of and/or. The possible French origin and the earlier attestation of (1286) and  (1330) suggest that the word may have been borrowed through these. The Germanic formation must be denominal, which is particularly obvious in the northern languages (where the verb “to have” is hebben), but is also seen in High German from the invariably regular conjugation. The nominal element may be, from , (also 🇨🇬;  only attested 1490), but the semantics seem problematic. Alternatively a new compound from hant +, ; cf. (“stolen good”, ca. 1350).

Verb

 * 1) to handle, wield, manipulate
 * 2) to manage, control, operate
 * 3)  to protect someone; to enforce their rights