Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

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.