halt

See also: Halt and hält

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /hɔːlt/
• IPA^(key): /hɑlt/
• Rhymes: -ɔːlt

• Audio (UK):

  (file)

Etymology 1

From Middle English halten, from Old English healtian (“to be lame, walk with a limp”), from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Proto-Germanic *haltōną. English usage in the sense of 'make a halt' is from the noun. Cognate with North Frisian halte, Swedish halta.

Verb

halt (third-person singular simple present halts, present participle halting, simple past and past participle halted)

1. (intransitive) To limp; move with a limping gait.
   • (Can we date this quote by Shakespeare and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)

     Here comes Sir Toby halting — you shall hear more; but if he had not been in drink, he would have tickled you othergates than he did.

   • 1610, The Tempest, by Shakespeare, act 4 scene 1

     Do not smile at me that I boast her of,

     For thou shalt find she will outstrip all praise,

     And make it halt behind her.

2. (intransitive) To stand in doubt whether to proceed, or what to do; hesitate; be uncertain; linger; delay; mammer.
   • Bible, 1 Kings xviii. 21

     How long halt ye between two opinions?

3. (intransitive) To be lame, faulty, or defective, as in connection with ideas, or in measure, or in versification.
4. To waver.
5. To falter.

Translations

limp (walk lamely) — see limp

Etymology 2

From Middle French halt, from early modern German halt (“stop!”), imperative of halten (“to hold, to stop”). More at hold.

Verb

halt (third-person singular simple present halts, present participle halting, simple past and past participle halted)

1. (intransitive) To stop marching.
2. (intransitive) To stop either temporarily or permanently.
   • Template:RQ:Chmbrs YngrSt

     And it was while all were passionately intent upon the pleasing and snake-like progress of their uncle that a young girl in furs, ascending the stairs two at a time, peeped perfunctorily into the nursery as she passed the hallway—and halted amazed.

3. (transitive) To bring to a stop.
4. (transitive) To cause to discontinue.

   The contract negotiations halted operations for at least a week.

Synonyms

• (to stop marching):
• (to stop): brake, desist, stay; See also Thesaurus:stop
• (to cause something to stop): freeze, immobilize; See also Thesaurus:immobilize
• (to cause to discontinue): break off, terminate, shut down, stop; See also Thesaurus:desist

Translations

to stop either temporarily or permanently

• Bulgarian: спирам (bg) (spiram), прекъсвам (bg) (prekǎsvam)
• Esperanto: halti
• Finnish: pysähtyä (fi), seisahtua (fi)
• French: faire halte (fr)
• German: anhalten (de), stoppen (de), rasten (de)
• Irish: tarraing suas
• Italian: fermare (it)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Japanese: 停止する (teishisuru), 休止する (kyūshisuru)
• Latin: subsisto
• Maori: urutū
• Norwegian: stoppe (no), bremse
• Portuguese: estagnar (pt)
• Quechua: sayay
• Spanish: parar (es)

to cause something to stop

• Bulgarian: спирам (bg) (spiram)
• Esperanto: haltigi
• Finnish: pysäyttää (fi), seisauttaa (fi)
• German: anhalten (de), stoppen (de), stocken (de)
• Irish: tarraing suas
• Italian: fermare (it)
• Japanese: 押し止める (oshitodomeru), さまたげる (ja) (samatageru)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Maori: urutū
• Norwegian: stoppe (no)
• Quechua: sayay
• Russian: остана́вливать (ru) n (ostanávlivatʹ)
• Spanish: parar (es)
• Swedish: stoppa (sv)

to waver or be hesitant

• Bulgarian: колебая се (kolebaja se)
• German: anhalten (de), stoppen (de), stocken (de), zögern (de)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Japanese: ためらう (ja) (tamerau)
• Norwegian: nøle (no), avvente (no)

Noun

halt (plural halts)

1. A cessation, either temporary or permanent.

   The contract negotiations put a halt to operations.

   • (Can we date this quote by Clarendon and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)

     Without any halt they marched.

2. (rail transport) A minor railway station (usually unstaffed) in the United Kingdom.

   The halt itself never achieved much importance, even with workers coming to and from the adjacent works.

Translations

cessation

• Armenian: դադար (hy) (dadar)
• Bulgarian: спиране (bg) n (spirane)
• Esperanto: halto
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Finnish: pysähtyminen (fi), pysähdys (fi) (temporary), loppu (fi), lopettaminen (fi) (permanent)
• German: Halt (de) m, Blockierung (de) f, Pause (de)

minor railway station

• Bulgarian: спирка (bg) f (spirka)
• Dutch: halte (nl) f
• Esperanto: trajnhaltejo
• Finnish: seisake (fi)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• French: halte (fr) f
• German: Halteplatz m, Haltestelle (de) f
• Hungarian: megállóhely (hu)
• Portuguese: apeadeiro
• Russian: полустанок (ru) m (polustanok)
• Spanish: apeadero (es) m

Etymology 3

Old English healt (verb healtian), from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Proto-Germanic *haltaz. Cognate with Danish halt, Swedish halt.

Adjective

halt (comparative more halt, superlative most halt)

1. (archaic) Lame, limping.
   • 1526, William Tyndale, trans. Bible, Mark IX:

     It is better for the to goo halt into lyfe, then with ij. fete to be cast into hell […]

   • Bible, Luke xiv. 21

     Bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind.

Noun

halt (plural halts)

1. (dated) Lameness; a limp.

Anagrams

• lath, thal

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Alemannic German

Etymology

From Middle High German halt. Cognate with German halt (adverb).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /halt/

Adverb

halt

1. so, just, simply
   • 1978, Rolf Lyssy & Christa Maerker, Die Schweizermacher, (transcript):

     Chömmer halt e chli früner. Schadet a nüt.

     So we'll arrive a little earlier. Won't do any harm.

---

Danish

Adjective

halt

1. lame

---

German

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /halt/

Etymology 1

From the verb halten (“to hold; to stop”).

Verb

halt

1. (deprecated template usage) Imperative singular of halten.

Interjection

halt!

1. stop!, wait!

Descendants

• → Dutch: halt
• → Italian: alt
• → Middle French: halt
  • French: halte
    • → Dutch: halte
  • → English: halt

Etymology 2

From Middle High German halt, pertaining to Old High German halto (“soon, fast”). Ultimately from Proto-Germanic *haldiz, an adverbial comparative like *batiz.

Adverb

halt

1. (colloquial, modal particle) Indicating that something is generally known, or cannot be changed, or the like; often untranslatable; so, just, simply, indeed

   Er ist halt ein Idiot. ― So he’s an idiot.

   Dann müssen wir halt härter arbeiten.

   Then we’ll just have to work harder.

Usage notes

• The word is originally southern German and is still so considered by some contemporary dictionaries. It has, however, become common throughout the language area during the past decades.

Synonyms

• eben

See also

• ja

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Hungarian

Etymology

hal (“to die”) +‎ -t

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈhɒlt]
• Hyphenation: halt

Verb

halt

1. third-person singular indicative past indefinite of hal
2. (deprecated template usage) past participle of hal

---

Irish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [hal̪ˠt̪ˠ]

Noun

halt m

1. h-prothesized form of alt

---

Old French

Adjective

halt m (oblique and nominative feminine singular halte)

1. high; elevated

Adverb

halt

1. loud; loudly

Derived terms

• haltement