half English · revision 2303

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 700 (Mercian glosses)|origins=gem-pro *halba-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /hɑːf/, US /hæf/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|half]], [[inh|ang|half|t=side, part]] (West Saxon [[m|ang|healf]]),^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Chambers 2008) from [[gem-pro|*halba-|t=something divided]].^(Etymonline) Its relatives include [[nl|half]], [[de|halb]] and [[non|hálfr]].^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(SOED 2002) Its further origin is uncertain:^(Hoad 1986)^(Etymonline) Etymonline suggests [[ine-pro|*skel-|t=to cut]] or a substrate word,^(Etymonline) and Klein and Merriam-Webster's Unabridged compare [[la|scalpere|t=to cut, scratch]].^(Klein 1966)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Side, one of the two sides of something: about 700, in early Mercian glosses.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) The word did not necessarily mean an equal part, and this sense survives in [[behalf]].^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Old English already had the noun, the adjective and the adverb.^(Etymonline) The sense “one of two equal parts” is recorded about 950,^(OED 1989) and the old sense “side” died out in the 16th century.^(SOED 2002) Old English used phrases like ''þridda healf'', literally “half third”, for “two and a half”, as German still does; the construction ''two and a half'' is first recorded about 1200.^(Etymonline) ''Half past'' in telling the time is from 1750.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) In Scotland the half is often put before the next hour, as in German.^(Etymonline) ''Not half'' first meant “far from enough” (1583) and later, in slang, “very much”.^(OED 1989) ''Half-brother'' is from before 1338^(Barnhart 1988) and ''half-sister'' from the 13th century, both probably after Old Norse.^(Hoad 1986) ''At half cock'' comes from a flintlock pistol that misfired when its cock was raised only halfway (mid-18th century),^(Cresswell 2021) and ''half-cocked'' “too hasty” is from 1833.^(Etymonline) The verb ''halve'' dates from the 13th century.^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 700 – Old English ''half'', side.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 811 – adjective.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 944 – adverb.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 950 – one of two equal parts.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1200 – ''two and a half''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 13th century – ''half-sister'' and ''halve''.^(Hoad 1986)

+ * 1583 – ''not half''.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1750 – ''half past'' the hour.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1786 – ''half dollar'' (US).^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1833 – ''half-cocked''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # Either of two equal parts that make up a whole.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # Either of the two periods of play in some games.^(AHD)

+ # ''(US)'' A fifty-cent coin.^(AHD)

+ # ''(sports)'' A [[halfback]].^(AHD)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Being one of two equal parts, or roughly so.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # Partial or incomplete.^(AHD)

+

+ ===Adverb===

+ # To the extent of exactly or nearly fifty [[percent]].^(AHD)

+ # Partly; not completely.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[halfness]]

+ * [[half-world]]

+ * [[half-cock]]

+ * [[half-solid]]

+ * [[half-length]]

+ * [[halfback]]

+ * [[halfbeak]]

+ * [[halfhearted]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[behalf]]

+ * [[halve]]

+ * [[halfpenny]]

+ * [[shelf]]

+ * [[scalpel]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The AHD notes that ''a half'', ''half of'' and ''half a'' are all correct but can differ: ''a half day'' usually means half a working day, while ''half a day'' may mean half of any day.^(AHD)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}