Handfast

Webster's Dictionary of the English Language

·noun Strong; steadfast.

II. Handfast ·noun Contract; specifically, espousal.

III. Handfast ·adj Fast by contract; betrothed by joining hands.

IV. Handfast ·noun Hold; grasp; custody; power of confining or keeping.

V. Handfast ·vt To Pledge; to Bind; to betroth by joining hands, in order to cohabitation, before the celebration of marriage.