hantle

• hantel, hauntle, hontle, hancle, hankle
• hantill (Scotland)

Of obscure origin. Perhaps from Middle English *antel, *antæl, from Old English *antæl, *andtæl, equivalent to and- + tale (“number”); or more likely of North Germanic origin, related to Swedish antal, Danish antal (“a number, multitude”), Dutch aantal (“a number, a great many”), and German Anzahl (“a number, quantity, multitude”). The addition of initial h is believed to be due to influence from Middle English handfull (“handful”).

hantle (plural hantles)

1. (Scotland, northern UK) A considerable number or quantity; a great many; a great deal.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:lot

   • 1932, Lewis Grassic Gibbon, Sunset Song (A Scots Quair), Polygon, published 2006, page 15:

     An Irish creature, Erbert Ellison was the name, ran the place for the trustees, he said, but if you might believe all the stories you heard he ran a hantle more silver into his own pouch than he ran into theirs.

• Elnath, hantel, lathen, thenal