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behalf

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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.

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