Definition of "second hand"

second hand¹

/ˌsɛkənd ˈhænd/

adjective
not comparable
1. Alternative form of secondhand
noun
plural second hands
1. An intermediate person or means; intermediary.
  Quotations
  “My Lord Oxford, by a second hand, proposed my being his chaplain, which I, by a second hand, excused.
  1826, Walter Scott, editor, Memoirs of Jonathan Swift, D.D., Dean of St Patrick's, Dublin‎, page 135
  Under certain circumstances there is always a danger in a young man's playing the benefactor towards the other sex, in his own person. A thousand times better do it by a second hand — engage the services of some kind aunt or female cousin.
  1832, James Sheridan Knowles, The Magdalen, and other tales‎, page 3

second hand²

/ˈsɛkənd ˌhænd/

noun
plural second hands
1. On a clock or watch, the hand or pointer that shows the number of seconds that have passed.
  Quotations
  ... the ticking of a second hand. Tick, tick, tick. The clock. Jude wrenched himself free of his gift's trance, surprised that there wasn't a tearing sound when his hand came free of the doubloon. The visions fell away, and he felt his ...
  2018 April 17, Bryan Camp, The City of Lost Fortunes‎, Titan Books