half
English[edit]
← 1 | 2 | 3 → |
---|---|---|
Cardinal: two Ordinal: second, deutero- Latinate ordinal: secondary Adverbial: two times, twice Multiplier: double, twofold Distributive: doubly Collective: both, pair, dyad, twosome Fractional: half Number of musicians: duo, duet, duplet |
Alternative forms[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Middle English half, halfe from Old English healf (“half”); as a noun, 'half', 'side', 'part', from Proto-West Germanic *halb, from Proto-Germanic *halbaz;
Pronunciation[edit]
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /hɑːf/
- Rhymes: -ɑːf
- (General Australian, New Zealand, Scotland) IPA(key): /hɐːf/
- (General American, Canada) IPA(key): /hæf/
Audio (US) (file)
- Rhymes: -æf
Noun[edit]
half (plural halves)
- One of two usually roughly equal parts into which anything may be divided, or considered as divided.
- I ate the slightly smaller half of the apple.
- You don't know the half of it.
- Of the passengers on the plane, half were English.
- The cake was delicious: half was vanilla and half was chocolate.
- 1634 October 9 (first performance), [John Milton], H[enry] Lawes, editor, A Maske Presented at Ludlow Castle, 1634: […] [Comus], London: […] [Augustine Matthews] for Hvmphrey Robinson, […], published 1637, OCLC 228715864; reprinted as Comus: […] (Dodd, Mead & Company’s Facsimile Reprints of Rare Books; Literature Series; no. I), New York, N.Y.: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1903, OCLC 1113942837:
- Not half his riches known, and yet despised.
- a. 1892, Alfred Tennyson, The Gardener's Daughter; or, The Pictures
- A friendship so complete Portion'd in halves between us
- (sports) One of the two opposite parts of the playing field of various sports, in which each starts the game.
- 2011 September 16, Ben Dirs, “Rugby World Cup 2011: New Zealand 83-7 Japan”, in BBC Sport[1]:
- However, the hosts hit back and hit back hard, first replacement hooker Andrew Hore sliding over, then Williams careering out of his own half and leaving several defenders for dead before flipping the ball to Nonu to finish off a scintillating move.
- Half of a standard measure, chiefly: (Britain) half a pint of beer or cider.
- 1968, John Braine, The Crying Game, Houghton Mifflin, page 11,
- He came back with a pint of Guinness for me and a half of bitter for Wendy.
- 1974, James Herriot, All Things Bright and Beautiful, St. Martin's Press, →ISBN,
- I accepted a half of bitter from him.
- 2006, Bill Appleton, Wide Boy, Pegasus Elliot Mackenzie, →ISBN, page 168,
- I went to the bar where I bought a pint and two large brandies. ... "Not brandy," she replied, "but I could use a long drink - maybe a half of lager."
- 1968, John Braine, The Crying Game, Houghton Mifflin, page 11,
- (preceded by “a” or a number) The fraction obtained by dividing 1 by 2.
- Synonym: ½
- Three-quarters minus a quarter is a half.
- Any of the three terms at Eton College, for Michaelmas, Lent, and summer.
- (slang) A half sibling.
- 2016, Robert M. Herzog, A World Between:
- So for Richard and Barbara, Jeff and Kari, the impossibly varied collection of steps and halves that is another legacy of my father.
- (UK, archaic) A child ticket.
- (sports) abbreviated form for half marathon.
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
|
|
|
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Adjective[edit]
half (not comparable)
- Consisting of a half (½, 50%).
- Consisting of some indefinite portion resembling a half; approximately a half, whether more or less; partial; imperfect.
- a half truth
- 1847, Alfred Tennyson, “(please specify the page number, or |part=Prologue, I to VII, or conclusion)”, in The Princess: A Medley, London: Edward Moxon, […], OCLC 2024748:
- Assumed from thence a half-consent.
- (of a sibling) Having one parent (rather than two) in common.
- A half brother or half sister
- (of a relative other than a sibling) Related through one common grandparent or ancestor rather than two.
Usage notes[edit]
- (consisting of a half): The adjective and noun are often united to form a compound, half-hour.
Derived terms[edit]
See also those listed at Category:English words prefixed with half-.
Descendants[edit]
- → Fiji Hindi: haafaa
- → Hawaiian: hapa
- → English: hapa
- → Japanese: ハーフ (hāfu)
- → English: hafu
- → Maori: hāwhe
- → Pitjantjatjara: aapa
Translations[edit]
|
|
Adverb[edit]
half (not comparable)
- In two equal parts or to an equal degree.
- In some part approximating a half.
- Partially; imperfectly.
- half-colored
- half done
- half persuaded
- half conscious
- He does sometimes half wish to change his life, but it is too difficult.
- 1690, [John] Dryden, Don Sebastian, King of Portugal: […], London: […] Jo. Hindmarsh, […], OCLC 1154883115, (please specify the page number):
- Half loth and half consenting.
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], OCLC 964384981, Nehemiah 13:24:
- Their children spoke half in the speech of Ashdod.
- Practically, nearly.
- c. 1587–1588, [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], part 1, 2nd edition, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, OCLC 932920499; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire; London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act II, scene v:
Synonyms[edit]
- (partially; imperfectly): halfly (obsolete)
Derived terms[edit]
Usage notes[edit]
- (approximating a half): The phrase half again expresses an amount in addition to the amount being compared to. E.g., half as many people refers to 50% of the original number, while half again as many people refers to 150% of the original number.
Translations[edit]
|
See also[edit]
Verb[edit]
half (third-person singular simple present halves, present participle halving, simple past and past participle halved)
- (transitive, obsolete) To halve.
- Synonyms: see Thesaurus:bisect
Translations[edit]
Preposition[edit]
half
- (UK, Ireland) Half past; a half-hour (30 minutes) after the last hour.
- Synonym: (North America, Australia) half past
- The time is 9:30; it is half nine.
- (Discuss(+) this sense) (rare, see usage notes) A half-hour to (preceding) the next hour.
- In some countries, "half seven" means 6:30.
Usage notes[edit]
In English, the first sense (half past) is the only sense in current use. The second sense (half-hour before) is almost exclusively used in reference to other cultural or linguistic backgrounds where a similar usage exists.
Interjection[edit]
half
- (theater) A call reminding performers that the performance will begin in thirty minutes.
References[edit]
- “half” in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
Dutch[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Middle Dutch half, from Old Dutch *half, from Proto-West Germanic *halb, from Proto-Germanic *halbaz.
Cognate with English half, German halb, West Frisian heal, Danish halv.
Pronunciation[edit]
Adjective[edit]
half (not comparable)
- half
- (with numbers) half before the next whole
- half tien
- half past nine (i.e. half of the tenth hour)
- anderhalf
- one and a half (half before two, with ander originally meaning second)
- half tien
- (with months) the middle of that month
- half maart
Inflection[edit]
Inflection of half | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
uninflected | half | |||
inflected | halve | |||
comparative | — | |||
positive | ||||
predicative/adverbial | half | |||
indefinite | m./f. sing. | halve | ||
n. sing. | half | |||
plural | halve | |||
definite | halve | |||
partitive | halfs |
Derived terms[edit]
Descendants[edit]
German[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Verb[edit]
half
Middle English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Old English healf, half, from Proto-West Germanic *halb, from Proto-Germanic *halbaz.
Noun[edit]
half (plural halves or halfes or halven)
- half
- part; side; behalf
- (Can we find and add a quotation of Wyclif to this entry?)
- 1387–1400, Geoffrey Chaucer, “The Myllers Tale”, in The Canterbury Tales, [Westminster: William Caxton, published 1478], OCLC 230972125; republished in [William Thynne], editor, The Workes of Geffray Chaucer Newlye Printed, […], [London]: […] [Richard Grafton for] Iohn Reynes […], 1542, OCLC 932884868:
- The four halves of the house
- (please add an English translation of this quote)
Alternative forms[edit]
Adjective[edit]
half
Alternative forms[edit]
Adverb[edit]
half
Alternative forms[edit]
Descendants[edit]
References[edit]
- “half, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
- “half, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
- “half, adv.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms inherited from Old English
- English terms derived from Old English
- English terms inherited from Proto-West Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-West Germanic
- English terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- English 1-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- Rhymes:English/ɑːf
- Rhymes:English/ɑːf/1 syllable
- English terms with audio links
- Rhymes:English/æf
- Rhymes:English/æf/1 syllable
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English nouns with irregular plurals
- English terms with usage examples
- English terms with quotations
- en:Sports
- British English
- English slang
- English terms with archaic senses
- English adjectives
- English uncomparable adjectives
- English adverbs
- English uncomparable adverbs
- English verbs
- English transitive verbs
- English terms with obsolete senses
- English prepositions
- Irish English
- English terms with rare senses
- English interjections
- en:Theater
- English fractional numbers
- en:Two
- Dutch terms inherited from Middle Dutch
- Dutch terms derived from Middle Dutch
- Dutch terms inherited from Old Dutch
- Dutch terms derived from Old Dutch
- Dutch terms inherited from Proto-West Germanic
- Dutch terms derived from Proto-West Germanic
- Dutch terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- Dutch terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- Dutch terms with IPA pronunciation
- Dutch terms with audio links
- Rhymes:Dutch/ɑlf
- Rhymes:Dutch/ɑlf/1 syllable
- Dutch lemmas
- Dutch adjectives
- German 1-syllable words
- German terms with IPA pronunciation
- German terms with audio links
- German non-lemma forms
- German verb forms
- Middle English terms inherited from Old English
- Middle English terms derived from Old English
- Middle English terms inherited from Proto-West Germanic
- Middle English terms derived from Proto-West Germanic
- Middle English terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- Middle English terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- Middle English lemmas
- Middle English nouns
- Requests for quotation/Wyclif
- Middle English terms with quotations
- Middle English adjectives
- Middle English adverbs