different between half vs haaf

English

Alternative forms

• 'arf, ha'f

Etymology

From Middle English half, halfe from Old English healf (“half”); as a noun, 'half', 'side', 'part', from Proto-West Germanic *halb, from Proto-Germanic *halbaz;

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /h??f/

Rhymes: -??f

• (General Australian, General New Zealand, Scotland) IPA^(key): /h??f/
• (General American, Canada) IPA^(key): /hæf/

Rhymes: -æf

• (Ireland, Wales) IPA^(key): /haf/, /häf/

Adjective

half (not comparable)

1. Consisting of a half (½, 50%).

2. Consisting of some indefinite portion resembling a half; approximately a half, whether more or less; partial; imperfect.

   • Assumed from thence a half-consent.

3. (of a sibling) Having one parent (rather than two) in common.

4. (rare, of a relative other than a sibling) Related through one common grandparent or ancestor rather than two.

Usage notes

• (consisting of a moiety, or half): The adjective and noun are often united to form a compound.

Synonyms

• (consisting of a moiety, or half): hemi-, semi-, demi-

Derived terms

See also those listed at Category:English words prefixed with half-.

Descendants

• ? Fiji Hindi: haafaa
• ? Hawaiian: hapa
  • ? English: hapa
• ? Japanese: ??? (h?fu)
  • ? English: hafu
• ? Maori: h?whe
• ? Pitjantjatjara: aapa

Translations

Adverb

half (not comparable)

1. In two equal parts or to an equal degree.
2. In some part approximating a half.
3. Partially; imperfectly.

   • Half loth and half consenting.

   • Their children spoke half in the speech of Ashdod.

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

half (plural halves)

1. One of two usually roughly equal parts into which anything may be divided, or considered as divided.
   • ?, Alfred Tennyson, The Gardener's Daughter; or, The Pictures

     A friendship so complete Portion'd in halves between us

   1. (sports) One of the two opposite parts of the playing field of various sports, in which each starts the game.
2. Half of a standard measure; frequently used (Britain) for half a pint of beer or cider.
   • 1968 (Britain), John Braine, The Crying Game, Houghton Mifflin, page 11,

     He came back with a pint of Guinness for me and a half of bitter for Wendy.

   • 1974 (Britain), James Herriot, All Things Bright and Beautiful, St. Martin's Press, ?ISBN,

     I accepted a half of bitter from him.

   • 2006 (Britain), Bill Appleton, Wide Boy, Pegasus Elliot Mackenzie, ?ISBN, page 168,

     I went to the bar where I bought a pint and two large brandies. ... "Not brandy," she replied, "but I could use a long drink - maybe a half of lager."

3. (preceded by “a” or a number) The fraction obtained by dividing 1 by 2.

4. (obsolete) Part; side; behalf.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Wyclif to this entry?)

   • The four halves of the house

5. Any of the three terms at Eton College, for Michaelmas, Lent, and summer.
6. (slang) A half sibling.
7. (Britain, archaic) A child ticket.

Synonyms

• (fraction obtained by dividing 1 by 2): ½

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

half (third-person singular simple present halves, present participle halving, simple past and past participle halved)

1. (transitive, obsolete) To halve.

Synonyms

• dimidiate; see also Thesaurus:bisect

Translations

Preposition

half

1. (Britain, Ireland) half past; A half-hour (30 minutes) after the last hour; i.e. 9.30="half (past) nine". (Not to be confused with #2)
2. (in some languages but rarely in English) A half-hour to (preceding) the next hour; i.e. 6.30="half (to) seven"

Interjection

half

1. (theater) A call reminding performers that the performance will begin in thirty minutes.

References

• half in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.

Dutch

Etymology

From Middle Dutch half, from Old Dutch *half, from Proto-West Germanic *halb, from Proto-Germanic *halbaz.

Cognate with English half, German halb, West Frisian heal, Danish halv.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??lf/
• Hyphenation: half
• Rhymes: -?lf

Adjective

half (not comparable)

1. half
2. (with numbers) half before the next whole

   half tien

   half past nine (i.e. half of the tenth hour)

   anderhalf

   one and a half (half before two, with ander originally meaning second)

3. (with months) the middle of that month

   half maart

   mid-March

Inflection

Derived terms

German

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /half/

Verb

half

1. first/third-person singular preterite of helfen

Middle English

Etymology

From Old English healf, half, from Proto-West Germanic *halb, from Proto-Germanic *halbaz.

Noun

half (plural halves or halfes or halven)

1. half

Alternative forms

• halfe, halph, alf, alfe, hælf, healf, healfe, elf, haf, hafe, halve, alve, hælve, helve

Adjective

half

1. half

Alternative forms

• healf (early)

Adverb

half

1. half

Alternative forms

• elf

Descendants

• English: half (see there for further descendants)
• Scots: hauf
• Yola: halleef, halluf

References

• “half, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
• “half, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
• “half, adv.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

English

Alternative forms

• haave

Etymology

From Old Norse haf (“the sea”). Cognate with Danish hav, Old English hæf (Etymology 2).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /h?f/

Noun

haaf

1. (fishing, Shetland, Scotland) the open sea, especially as a place to fish

2. (fishing, Shetland) the practice of sea fishing for such as cod, ling and tusk
   • 2005, James Coull, 7: The development of fishing communities with special reference to Scotland, Jonathan Potts, Hance D. Smith (editors), Managing Britain's Marine and Coastal Environment: Towards a Sustainable Future, page 145,

     Although men concentrated at the main haaf stations during the summer fishing season, they reverted to their homes in crofting townships for the remainder of the year.

Derived terms

Scots

Alternative forms

• haaff, haf, haff

Etymology

From Old Norse haf (“the sea”). Cognate with Danish hav, Old English hæf (Etymology 2).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /h?(?)f/

Noun

haaf (uncountable)

1. (archaic, Orkney, Shetland) the deep sea beyond coastal waters
2. (fishing, Shetland) the deep-sea fishing carried out 30-40 miles offshore in open boats
3. (fishing, Orkney, Shetland) deep-sea fishing, especially for cod, ling, tusk, etc.

Derived terms

Further reading

• “haaf” in Eagle, Andy, editor, The Online Scots Dictionary^[1], 2016.
• “haaf” in John J Graham, The Shetland Dictionary, Lerwick: Shetland Times Ltd, 1979, ?ISBN.
• Flaws, Margaret; Lamb, Gregor (1996) The Orkney Dictionary, Kirkwall, Orkney: Orkney Language and Culture Group, published 2001, ?ISBN