Etymologically
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halfway

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /hɑːfˈweɪ/ (UK); /ˌhæfˈweɪ/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is Old English healfweg,[2] a compound of half and way,[2][3][4] also written half-way.[2][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

At or to half the distance: Old English, as an adverb.[2][4]

Semantic evolution

Merriam-Webster dates the adjective, midway between two points, to 1694.[3] A halfway house was originally a common name for inns midway between cities or stages;[2] it is now a place for people readjusting to society, as after prison or treatment.[5] To meet halfway is to compromise.[6][4]

Timeline

  • Old English – healfweg.[2]
  • 1694 – the adjective.[3]

Modern meaning

Adverb

  1. At or to half the distance; to the middle.
  2. Partly; incompletely.

Adjective

  1. Midway between two points or conditions.
  2. Partial; going only part of the way: halfway measures.

Word family

  • halfway house

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c d Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  6. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins