behalf

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /bɪˈhɑːf/, /bəˈhɑːf/, US /bɪˈhæf/^[1]

Etymology

It is a Middle English fusion of the Old English phrases (him) be healfe “by (his) side” and on (his) healfe “on (his) side”.^[2][3][4] It is formed from Middle English be + half (“side”), half being from Old English healf “side”.^[5][3] It is related to by and half.^[5][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the interest of, in the name of: 1303, in Mannyng's Handlyng Synne, as behalve.^[3][7]

Semantic evolution

The word was confused with the Middle English adverb behalve “by the side of, near”.^[2] From the later 15th century the form behalve gave way to behalf, as the singular halve gave way to half.^[3] German meinethalben “on my behalf”, from Middle High German von minen halben, is a parallel development.^[3] On behalf of in the sense “as the agent of” is from 1303, and in behalf of, “for the benefit of”, from 1598.^[7] In recent use on behalf has often been used in the sense of in behalf, and the distinction has been lost.^[7]

Timeline

• 1303 – in the name of.^[7][3]
• c. 1386 – literally, beside.^[3]
• 1598 – in behalf of, for the benefit of.^[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. Interest, support or benefit, used in the phrases on behalf of and in behalf of.
2. on behalf of: as the agent or representative of someone.
3. in behalf of: for the benefit of someone.

Related words

• half
• by

Usage notes

Traditionally in behalf of means “for the benefit of” and on behalf of means “as the agent of”, but the two senses are close and often confused.^[8][7] Collins notes that on behalf of is sometimes wrongly used for on the part of.^[9]

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
9. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins