| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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| half |
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| PRONUNCIATION: |  h f, häf |
| NOUN: | Inflected forms: pl. halves ( hvz, hävz)
1a. One of two equal parts that together constitute a whole. b. One part approximately equal to the remaining part. 2. Informal A 50-cent piece. 3. Sports a. One of the two playing periods into which certain games are divided. b. A halfback. 4. Chiefly British A school term; a semester. 5. Half an hour: a half past one. | | ADJECTIVE: | 1a. Being one of two equal parts. b. Being approximately a half. 2. Partial or incomplete: gave me a half smile. | | ADVERB: | 1. To the extent of exactly or nearly 50 percent: The tank is half empty. 2. Not completely or sufficiently; partly: only half right. | | IDIOMS: | by half 1. By a considerable extent. 2. By an excessive amount: too clever by half. by halves In a reluctant manner; unenthusiastically. half again as many (or much) One-and-a-half times more; 50 percent more. in half Into halves. not half Not at all: “Fancy housing? Not half likely, ma'am” (Russell Baker).not the half of Only a fraction or a small part of. | | ETYMOLOGY: | Middle English, from Old English healf. See skel-1 in Appendix I.
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| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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