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semi-. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
semi-, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
semi- in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
semi- you have here. The definition of the word
semi- will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
semi-, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Alternative forms
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin semi- (“half”), from Proto-Indo-European *sēmi/*sēmi-. Cognate to English sam, and to hemi- (via Ancient Greek).
Pronunciation
Prefix
semi-
- half
- 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
- In British English, the semi- forms as usually hyphenated as evidenced by OED's semi- entries predominantly using hyphen.
Synonyms
Derived terms
Translations
half (prefix)
- Arabic: شِبْه (ar) (šibh) (not an attached prefix)
- Catalan: semi- (ca)
- Chinese:
- Mandarin: 半- (zh) (bàn-)
- Czech: semi-
- Finnish: puoli-, semi- (fi)
- French: semi- (fr), demi- (fr), à moitié
- Galician: semi- (gl)
- Georgian: ნახევრად- (naxevrad-), ნახევარ- (naxevar-)
- German: halb (de) (compounding), semi- (de)
- Greek: ημι- (el) (imi-)
- Hebrew: חצי־ (khatsí-), סמי־ (sémi-)
- Hungarian: szemi-, fél-, félig-
- Ido: mi-
- Irish: leath-
- Italian: semi- (it), mezzo-
- Japanese: 半- (ja) (はん-, han-)
- Latin: semi-
- Malay: semi-
- Norwegian: halv-
- Polish: pół- (pl)
- Portuguese: semi- (pt)
- Punjabi: ਅਧ- (adha-)
- Romanian: semi- (ro), demi-, emi-, hemi-
- Russian: полу- (ru) (polu-), семи- (semi-)
- Spanish: semi- (es), hemi-
- Swedish: halv-
- Turkish: yarı (tr)
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Further reading
- “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
Catalan
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin sēmi-.
Pronunciation
Prefix
semi-
- semi-
Derived terms
Further reading
Czech
Pronunciation
Prefix
semi-
- semi-
- semi- + finále → semifinále
Derived terms
Further reading
- semi- in Příruční slovník jazyka českého, 1935–1957
- semi- in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého, 1960–1971, 1989
- semi- in Slovník afixů užívaných v češtině, 2017
Finnish
Etymology
Learned borrowing from Latin semi-.
Pronunciation
Prefix
semi-
- half-, semi-, demi-
- Synonym: puoli-
Derived terms
See also
Further reading
French
Etymology
From Latin sēmi-.
Pronunciation
Prefix
semi-
- semi-, demi-, half-
Derived terms
Italian
Etymology
From Latin sēmi-, from Proto-Indo-European *sēmi (“half”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /se.mi/
- Hyphenation: se‧mi-
Prefix
semi-
- semi-, demi-, half-
Derived terms
Anagrams
Latin
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Proto-Indo-European *sēmi-. Cognate with Sanskrit सामि (sāmí), Ancient Greek ἡμι- (hēmi-), Old High German sami-.
Pronunciation
Prefix
sēmi-
- half
Derived terms
Descendants
References
- “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
Etymology
From Latin sēmi-.
Pronunciation
Prefix
semi-
- semi- (half)
- semi- (partially)
Derived terms
Spanish
Etymology
From Latin sēmi-.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /semi/
- Syllabification: se‧mi-
Prefix
semi-
- semi- (half)
- semi- (partially)
Derived terms
Further reading