Etymologically
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hallway

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 24 October 2026 at 18:01. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˈhɔːlweɪ/[1]
  • US: /ˈhɔlˌweɪ/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English hall + way.[2][3][4] Dictionary.com marks it as an Americanism.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Etymonline dates the word to 1839.[3] The OED's first record, from 1855 in the Lady's Newspaper, is of a passageway inside a building, a corridor, or sometimes an entrance hall.[2]

Semantic evolution

The revised OED (2024) moved its first date from 1877 to 1855;[2][5] Merriam-Webster dates the word to 1876 and Dictionary.com to 1875–80.[6][7][4] In American regional use, especially in Tennessee, hallway has also meant the open space between two buildings, as in a quotation of 1939 from western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee, and the central aisle or open space in a barn.[8]

Timeline

  • 1839 – Etymonline's first date.[3]
  • 1855 – a passageway in a building.[2]
  • 1876 – Merriam-Webster's first date.[6][7]
  • 1939 – the space between two buildings, in North Carolina and Tennessee.[8]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A passage inside a building that leads to its rooms; a corridor: Her office is at the end of the hallway.
  2. An entrance hall.
  3. (US regional, especially Tennessee) An open space between two buildings, or the central aisle of a barn.

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  5. ^ Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  7. ^ a b Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  8. ^ a b Cassidy, Frederic G. & Joan Houston Hall (eds.) (1985–2002), Dictionary of American Regional English, vols I–IV, Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press