Half , v. t. To halve. [Obs.] See Halve.
Sir H. Wotton.
Half (häf),
n.; pl. Halves (hävz). [AS. healf. See Half, a.]
1. Part; side; behalf. [Obs.]
Wyclif.
The four halves of the house.
Chaucer.
2. One of
two equal parts into which anything may be divided, or considered as divided; -- sometimes
followed by of; as, a half
of an apple.
Not half his riches known, and yet despised.
Milton.
A friendship
so complete
Portioned in halves between us.
Tennyson. Better half. See under Better. - -
In half, in two; an expression sometimes
used improperly instead of in or into halves; as, to cut in half. [Colloq.] Dickens. -- In, or On, one's half,
in one's behalf; on one's part.
[Obs.] -- To cry halves, to claim an equal share with another. -- To go halves, to share equally between two.
Half , adv. In an equal part
or degree; in some part
approximating a half; partially; imperfectly; as,
half-colored, half done, half-hearted, half persuaded, half conscious.
"Half loth and half consenting."
Dryden.
Their children spoke halfin the
speech of Ashdod.
Neh. xiii. 24.
Half (häf),
a. [AS.
healf, half, half; as a noun, half, side, part; akin to OS.,
OFries., & D. half, G. halb, Sw. half, Dan. halv, Icel. hālfr, Goth. halbs.
Cf. Halve, Behalf.]
1. Consisting of a moiety, or half; as, a half bushel; a half hour; a half dollar; a half view.
&fist; The adjective and noun are often united to form a compound.
2. Consisting
of some indefinite portion
resembling a half; approximately a half, whether more or less;
partial; imperfect; as, a half
dream; half knowledge.
Assumed from thence a half consent.
Tennyson. Half ape (Zoöl.), a lemur. -- Half back. (Football) See under 2d Back. --
Half bent, the first notch, for the sear point to enter, in the
tumbler of a gunlock; the halfcock notch. -- Half binding, a style of bookbinding in which only the back and
corners are in leather. -- Half boarder, one who boards in part; specifically, a scholar at
a boarding school who takes dinner only. -- Half-breadth plan (Shipbuilding), a horizontal plan of one half a vessel, divided lengthwise, showing
the lines. -- Half cadence (Mus.),
a cadence on the dominant. -- Half cap, a slight salute with the cap. [Obs.] Shak. -- At half cock, the position of the cock of a gun when
retained by the first notch. -- Half hitch, a sailor's knot in a rope; half of
a clove hitch. -- Half hose, short stockings;
socks. -- Half measure, an imperfect or weak line of
action. -- Half note (Mus.), a minim, one half of a semibreve. -- Half pay, half of the wages
or salary; reduced pay; as, an officer on half pay. -- Half price, half the ordinary price; or a price much reduced. -- Half round. (a)
(Arch.) A molding of semicircular section. (b)
(Mech.) Having one
side flat and the other
rounded; -- said of a file.
-- Half shift (Mus.), a position of the hand, between the open position and the first
shift, in playing on the violin and kindred instruments. See Shift. -- Half step (Mus.), a semitone; the smallest difference of pitch or interval, used in music. -- Half tide, the time or state
of the tide
equally distant from ebb and
flood. -- Half time, half the ordinary time for work
or attendance; as, the half-time system. -- Half tint (Fine Arts),
a middle or intermediate tint, as in drawing or painting. See Demitint. -- Half
truth, a statement only partially true, or which gives only a
part of the
truth. Mrs. Browning. -- Half year, the space of six
months; one term of a school when there are two terms in
a year.
Hear it pronounced