> as lemmas

a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 3193 Þe comli quen þan takeþ meliors by þe hande.

c1400 (?a1387) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Huntington HM 137) (1873) C. xxii. l. 170 Crist..took thomas by þe hand.

?1511 Treat. Joseph of Armathy (de Worde) sig. A.iv He toke me by the hande and soo ledde me in myn house.

1571 T. Fortescue tr. P. Mexia Foreste ii. v. f. 62 If he gaue affirmatiue aunswere, then should they take eche other by the hande immediatly, in token of assured faith.

1651 tr. F. de Quintana Hist. Don Fenise 40 She took Felix by the hand, and put him in estate to come to the point of his desires.

1709 R. Steele & J. Addison Tatler No. 114. ⁋1 He took me by the Hand.

1777 S. J. Pratt Liberal Opinions V. cxv. 164 I at length took by the hand my friend Mr. Green.

1841 C. Dickens Old Curiosity Shop i. xxxiii. 277 The historian takes the friendly reader by the hand.

1897 B. Stoker Dracula xviii. 252 I took him by the hand and raised him up.

1919 ‘E. M. Delafield’ Consequences i. 11 Barbara taking little Archie by the hand and leading him to the door.

1985 M. Gibson Dancing with Mermaids (1986) xxxix. 171 He took the somnambulist by the hand and led her into the empty yard.

2002 Sawubona (S. Afr. Airways In-flight Mag.) July 78/2 Burly, bearded miners..would take each other by the hand of a Friday night—and cut a rug until dawn.