Handful \Hand"ful\, n.; pl. Hand flus. [AS. handfull.]

1. As much as the hand will grasp or contain. --Addison.

2. A hand's breadth; four inches. [Obs.]

Knap the tongs together about a handful from the bottom. --Bacon.

3. A small quantity.

This handful of men were tied to very hard duty. --Fuller.

To have one's handful, to have one's hands full; to have all one can do. [Obs.]

They had their handful to defend themselves from firing. --Sir. W. Raleigh.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)