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half

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half

  • /ˈhɑːf/ General South African, UK
  • /ˈhaːf/ Wales
  • /ˈhäːf/ Australia, New Zealand
  • /ˈhɐ̞ːf/ Australia, New Zealand
  • /ˈhæf/ Canada, US, Ireland
  • /ˈhɛə̯f/
  • /ˈhaf/ Northern England, Scotland

Rhymes with -ɑːf, -æf

Where it comes from

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.

Cognates

Cognate with Old Saxon, Old Frisian, and Old Dutch half, West Frisian heal, Dutch half, German halb, Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish halv, Icelandic hálfur and Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐌻𐌱𐍃 (halbs). Compare halve, behalf.

noun halves · 'arf · ha'f · halfe

  1. One of two usually roughly equal parts into which anything may be divided, or considered as divided. I ate the smaller half of the apple.
  2. One of two equal periods into which a game is divided. An association football match usually consists of two halves of 45 minutes each.
  3. One of the two opposite parts of the playing field of various sports, in which each starts the game. 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.
  4. UK 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. He came back with a pint of Guinness for me and a half of bitter for Wendy.
  5. A barrel measure of 27 gallons (half a hogshead). Barrels came in firkins, nine gallons; kilderkins, eighteen gallons; halves, twenty-seven gallons; barrels, thirty-six gallons and hogsheads, fifty-four.
  6. The fraction obtained by dividing 1 by 2. Three-quarters minus a quarter is a half.
  7. Any of the three terms at Eton College, for Michaelmas, Lent, and summer.
  8. slang A half sibling. So for Richard and Barbara, Jeff and Kari, the impossibly varied collection of steps and halves that is another legacy of my father.
  9. UK, dated A child ticket. Two and a half to Paddington.
  10. abbreviated form for half marathon.
  11. abbreviation, clipping Clipping of half-dollar.half-dollar Tonight, we're offering the last of the Walking Liberty Halves for awhile:^([sic])

adjective 'arf · ha'f · halfe

  1. not comparable Consisting of a half (½, 50%). a half kilo
  2. not comparable Consisting of some indefinite portion resembling a half; approximately a half, whether more or less; partial; imperfect. a half truth
  3. not comparable Having one parent (rather than two) in common. a half brother or half sister
  4. not comparable Related through one common grandparent or ancestor rather than two. a half uncle or half aunt or half cousin

adverb 'arf · ha'f · halfe

  1. not comparable In two equal parts or to an equal degree.
  2. not comparable In some part approximating a half.
  3. not comparable Partially; imperfectly. half-colored
  4. not comparable Practically, nearly. To be a King, is halfe to bee a God.

verb halves · halving · halved · 'arf · ha'f

  1. transitive To halve.

preposition 'arf · ha'f · halfe

  1. Ireland, UK Half past; a half-hour (30 minutes) after the last hour. The time is 9:30; it is half nine.
  2. rare A half-hour to (preceding) the next hour. In some countries, "half seven" means 6:30.

interjection 'arf · ha'f · halfe

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

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