Halfter

German

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈhalftər/, [ˈhalf.tɐ]
• Hyphenation: Half‧ter

Etymology 1

From Middle High German halfter, Old High German halftra (“halter”), from Proto-West Germanic *halftrijā.

Noun

Halfter n or m (strong, genitive Halfters, plural Halfter)

1. (equestrianism) halter

Declension

Declension of Halfter [neuter // masculine, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	das, der	Halfter	die	Halfter
genitive	eines	des	Halfters	der	Halfter
dative	einem	dem	Halfter	den	Halftern
accusative	ein, einen	das, den	Halfter	die	Halfter

Etymology 2

From Middle High German hulfter (“saddlecloth; quiver”) alongside hulft, hulst, from Old High German hulft, hulst (“saddlecloth”, also hulfter, but in a copy from the 14th c.). Further origin uncertain. In view of Old Saxon hulist, Middle Low German holster, Gothic 𐌷𐌿𐌻𐌹𐍃𐍄𐍂 (hulistr), all (also) “cloth” or “saddlecloth”, some relation with these words (Proto-Germanic *hulistrą) seems very likely. It is unclear, however, whether this relation is original or secondary. The modern -a- is from interaction with etymology 1, probably reinforced by dialectal (near-)mergers before dark -l-.

Noun

Halfter n (strong, genitive Halfters, plural Halfter) or
Halfter (rare) f (genitive Halfter, plural Halftern)

1. (weaponry) holster

   Synonym: Holster

Declension

Declension of Halfter [neuter, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	das	Halfter	die	Halfter
genitive	eines	des	Halfters	der	Halfter
dative	einem	dem	Halfter	den	Halftern
accusative	ein	das	Halfter	die	Halfter

Declension of Halfter [feminine (rare)]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	eine	die	Halfter	die	Halftern
genitive	einer	der	Halfter	der	Halftern
dative	einer	der	Halfter	den	Halftern
accusative	eine	die	Halfter	die	Halftern

Further reading

• “Halfter” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• “Halfter” in Duden online
• “Halfter” in Duden online