halfway English · revision 10319

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=compound|attested=Old English}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /hɑːfˈweɪ/ ''(UK)''; /ˌhæfˈweɪ/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Old English healfweg,^(Etymonline) a compound of [[half]] and [[way]],^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)^(SOED 2002) also written half-way.^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ At or to half the distance: Old English, as an adverb.^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Merriam-Webster dates the adjective, midway between two points, to 1694.^(MWU 2024) A ''halfway house'' was originally a common name for inns midway between cities or stages;^(Etymonline) it is now a place for people readjusting to society, as after prison or treatment.^(AHD) ''To meet halfway'' is to compromise.^(Collins 2023)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Old English – healfweg.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1694 – the adjective.^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adverb===

+ # At or to half the distance; to the [[middle]].^(Collins 2023)^(SOED 2002)

+ # Partly; incompletely.^(Collins 2023)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Midway between two points or conditions.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Partial; going only part of the way: ''halfway measures''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[halfway house]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[half]]

+ * [[way]]

+ * [[midway]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}