semi-
English
[edit]Alternative forms
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Borrowed from Latin semi- (“half”), from Proto-Indo-European *sēmi/*sēmi-. Cognate to English sam, and to hemi- (via Ancient Greek).
Pronunciation
[edit]Prefix
[edit]semi-
- half
- semi-invalid.
- partial, incomplete
- somewhat, rather, quasi-
- 1994, Eric Bogosian, Pounding nails in the floor with my forehead:
- Nothing like a nice hot ethnic dish before you go to see that semi-expensive, semi-meaningful Off-Broadway show.
Usage notes
[edit]- In British English, the semi- forms are usually hyphenated as evidenced by OED's semi- entries predominantly using hyphen.
Synonyms
[edit]Derived terms
[edit]Translations
[edit]half (prefix)
|
Further reading
[edit]- “semi-”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
- “semi-”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
- John A. Simpson and Edmund S. C. Weiner, editors (1989), “semi-”, in The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press, →ISBN.
Anagrams
[edit]Catalan
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Pronunciation
[edit]Prefix
[edit]semi-
Derived terms
[edit]Further reading
[edit]- “semi-”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], 2007 April
- “semi-”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025.
- “semi-” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
- “semi-” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.
Czech
[edit]Pronunciation
[edit]Prefix
[edit]semi-
- semi-
- semi- + finále → semifinále
Derived terms
[edit]Further reading
[edit]- “semi-”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
- “semi-”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989
- semi- in Slovník afixů užívaných v češtině, 2017
Finnish
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Learned borrowing from Latin semi-.
Pronunciation
[edit]Prefix
[edit]semi-
Derived terms
[edit]See also
[edit]Further reading
[edit]- “semi-”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish][1] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2023-07-03
French
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Pronunciation
[edit]Prefix
[edit]semi-
Derived terms
[edit]German
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Pronunciation
[edit]Prefix
[edit]semi-
- (fairly rare, learned) semi-, half-
- Synonym: halb-
- semi- + automatisch (“automatic”) → semiautomatisch (“semi-automatic”)
- (slang or colloquial) not very, hardly [since ca. 2000]
Usage notes
[edit]- In the literal sense, this prefix is productive only with Latinate stems, though halb- is much more common even with these (e.g. halbautomatisch).
- In the slang sense, to the contrary, it is productive mostly with native adjectives. These may also be spelt with a hyphen (semi-gut). They are often preceded by an adverb such as nur or eher.
Derived terms
[edit]colloquialisms
Italian
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From Latin sēmi-, from Proto-Indo-European *sēmi (“half”).
Pronunciation
[edit]Prefix
[edit]semi-
Derived terms
[edit]Anagrams
[edit]Latin
[edit]Alternative forms
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From Proto-Indo-European *sēmi-. Cognate with Sanskrit सामि (sāmí), Ancient Greek ἡμι- (hēmi-), Old High German sami-.
Pronunciation
[edit]- (Classical Latin) IPA(key): [ˈseː.mɪ]
- (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): [ˈsɛː.mi]
Prefix
[edit]sēmi-
Derived terms
[edit]Descendants
[edit]References
[edit]- “semi-”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- “semi-”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
Portuguese
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Pronunciation
[edit]
- Hyphenation: se‧mi
Prefix
[edit]semi-
Derived terms
[edit]Spanish
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Pronunciation
[edit]Prefix
[edit]semi-
Derived terms
[edit]Further reading
[edit]- “semi-”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10
Categories:
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *sem-
- English terms borrowed from Latin
- English terms derived from Latin
- English doublets
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio pronunciation
- English lemmas
- English prefixes
- English terms with quotations
- English productive prefixes
- Catalan terms borrowed from Latin
- Catalan terms derived from Latin
- Catalan terms with IPA pronunciation
- Catalan lemmas
- Catalan prefixes
- Czech terms with IPA pronunciation
- Czech lemmas
- Czech prefixes
- Finnish terms borrowed from Latin
- Finnish learned borrowings from Latin
- Finnish terms derived from Latin
- Finnish terms with IPA pronunciation
- Finnish lemmas
- Finnish prefixes
- French terms derived from Latin
- French 2-syllable words
- French terms with IPA pronunciation
- French terms with audio pronunciation
- French lemmas
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- German terms borrowed from Latin
- German terms derived from Latin
- German 2-syllable words
- German terms with IPA pronunciation
- German lemmas
- German prefixes
- German terms with rare senses
- German slang
- German colloquialisms
- Italian terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- Italian terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *sem-
- Italian terms inherited from Latin
- Italian terms derived from Latin
- Italian terms inherited from Proto-Indo-European
- Italian 2-syllable words
- Italian terms with IPA pronunciation
- Italian lemmas
- Italian prefixes
- Latin terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- Latin terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *sem-
- Latin terms inherited from Proto-Indo-European
- Latin terms with IPA pronunciation
- Latin lemmas
- Latin prefixes
- Portuguese terms derived from Latin
- Portuguese 2-syllable words
- Portuguese terms with IPA pronunciation
- Portuguese lemmas
- Portuguese prefixes
- Spanish terms derived from Latin
- Spanish 2-syllable words
- Spanish terms with IPA pronunciation
- Spanish lemmas
- Spanish prefixes