Halfter

German

Etymology 1

From Middle High German halfter, Old High German halftra (“halter”), from Proto-Germanic *halftrō. Cognate with Dutch halster, English halter.

Noun

Halfter m or n (genitive Halfters, plural Halfter)

1. (equestrianism) halter

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 etymology 1, probably reinforced by dialectal (near-)mergers before dark -l-.

Noun

Halfter n (genitive Halfters, plural Halfter)

Halfter f (genitive Halfter, plural Halftern)

1. (weaponry) holster

Synonyms

• Holster