half

English

Alternative forms

• 'arf, ha'f
• halfe (obsolete)

Etymology

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

• (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

• (Ireland, Wales) IPA^(key): /haf/, /häf/

Noun

half (plural halves)

1. 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], edited by H[enry] Lawes, A Maske Presented at Ludlow Castle, 1634: , London: [Augustine Matthews] for Hvmphrey Robinson, , published 1637, →OCLC; 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:

     Not half his riches known, and yet despised.

   • 1842, Alfred Tennyson, “The Gardener’s Daughter; or, The Pictures”, in Poems. , volume II, London: Edward Moxon, , →OCLC, page 19:

     I and he, / Brothers in Art; a friendship so complete / Portion'd in halves between us, […]

2. (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:

     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.

3. Half of a standard measure, chiefly:
   1. (British) half a pint of beer or cider. (Refusing a pint) Just a half, thank you. (Offering to top up a pint glass) Do you want a half in that? (Minimizing the amount of drink taken) A swift half at the Pear Tree.
      • 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."

   2. (liquor trade) A barrel measure of 27 gallons (half a hogshead).
      • 1987, Keith Dunstan, The Amber Nectar, Ringwood: Vicking O'Neil, page 81:

        Barrels came in firkins, nine gallons; kilderkins, eighteen gallons; halves, twenty-seven gallons; barrels, thirty-six gallons and hogsheads, fifty-four.

4. (preceded by “a” or a number) The fraction obtained by dividing 1 by 2.

   Synonym: ½

   Three-quarters minus a quarter is a half.

5. Any of the three terms at Eton College, for Michaelmas, Lent, and summer.
6. (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.

7. (UK, dated) A child ticket. Two and a half to Paddington.
8. (sports) abbreviated form for half marathon.
9. (numismatic slang) Clipping of half-dollar.
   • 2002 August 15, Fred A. Murphy, “FA: Last of the Walkers”, in rec.collecting.coins‎ (Usenet), retrieved 2023-01-03:

     Tonight, we're offering the last of the Walking Liberty Halves for awhile:

Derived terms

Translations

Adjective

half (not comparable)

1. Consisting of a half (½, 50%).

   Synonyms: semi-, hemi-, demi-

   a half kilo

   a half hour

   a half dollar

2. 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:

     Assumed from thence a half-consent.

3. (of a sibling) Having one parent (rather than two) in common.

   A half brother or half sister

4. (of a relative other than a sibling) Related through one common grandparent or ancestor rather than two.

   A half uncle or half aunt or half cousin

Usage notes

• (consisting of a half): The adjective and noun are often united to form a compound, half-hour.

Derived terms

See also those listed at Category:English terms prefixed with half-.

Descendants

• → Fiji Hindi: haafaa
• → Hawaiian: hapa
  • → English: hapa
• → Japanese: ハーフ (hāfu)
  • → English: hafu
• → Maori: hāwhe
• → Pitjantjatjara: aapa

Translations

Adverb

half (not comparable)

1. In two equal parts or to an equal degree.
2. In some part approximating a half.
3. 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, (please specify the page number):

     Half loth and half consenting.

   • 1611, The Holy Bible,  (King James Version), London: Robert Barker, , →OCLC, Nehemiah 13:24:

     Their children spoke half in the speech of Ashdod.

   • 1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, , →OCLC, Canto V:

     I sometimes hold it half a sin
     ⁠To put in words the grief I feel;
     ⁠For words, like Nature, half reveal
     And half conceal the Soul within.

4. Practically, nearly.
   • c. 1587–1588, [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. The First Part , 2nd edition, part 1, London: Richard Iones, , published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire, London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act II, scene v:

     To be a King, is halfe to bee a God.

Usage notes

• (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.

Synonyms

• (partially; imperfectly): halfly (obsolete)

Derived terms

Translations

See also

• not half

Verb

half (third-person singular simple present halves, present participle halving, simple past and past participle halved)

1. (transitive, obsolete) To halve.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:bisect

Translations

Preposition

half

1. (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.

2. (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

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

half

1. (theater) A call reminding performers that the performance will begin in thirty minutes.

References

• “half”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Dutch

Etymology

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

• IPA^(key): /ɦɑlf/

• Audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: half
• Rhymes: -ɑlf

Adjective

half (not comparable)

1. half
2. (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)

3. (with months) the middle of that month

   half maart

   mid-March

Inflection

Derived terms

Descendants

• Berbice Creole Dutch: halfu
• Negerhollands: half
• →? Sranan Tongo: afu (dated)
  • → Aukan: aloefoe
  • → Saramaccan: háfu, áfu

German

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /half/

• Audio

  (file)

Verb

half

1. first/third-person singular preterite of helfen

Middle English

Etymology

From Old English healf, half, from Proto-West Germanic *halb, from Proto-Germanic *halbaz.

Noun

half (plural halves or halfes or halven)

1. half
2. part; side; behalf
   • 1387–1400, Geoffrey Chaucer, “The Myllers Tale”, in The Canterbury Tales, , →OCLC; republished in [William Thynne], editor, The Workes of Geffray Chaucer Newlye Printed, , : [Richard Grafton for] Iohn Reynes , 1542, →OCLC:

     The four halves of the house

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Wyclif to this entry?)

Alternative forms

• halfe, halph, alf, alfe, hælf, healf, healfe, elf, haf, hafe, halve, alve, hælve, helve

Adjective

half

1. half

Alternative forms

• healf (Early Middle English)

Adverb

half

1. half

Alternative forms

• elf

Descendants

• English: half (see there for further descendants)
• Scots: hauf
• Yola: halleef, halef, halluf

References

• “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.