Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

half

/ˈhäːf/

Word Rarity Common

Frequency: 5.41 in modern English

Syllables
half
IPA
/ˈhäːf/
10
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
1
Syllables
4
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

One of two usually roughly equal parts into which anything may be divided, or considered as divided.

noun

One of two usually roughly equal parts into which anything may be divided, or considered as divided.

noun

One of two usually roughly equal parts into which anything may be divided, or considered as divided.

noun

Half of a standard measure, chiefly:

British usage

noun

Half of a standard measure, chiefly:

noun

The fraction obtained by dividing 1 by 2.

noun

Any of the three terms at Eton College, for Michaelmas, Lent, and summer.

noun

A half sibling.

Slang

Example Sentences

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. Cognates Cognate with Old Saxon, Old Frisian, and Old Dutch half, West Frisian heal, Dutch half, German halb, Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish halv, Icelandic hálfur and Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐌻𐌱𐍃 (halbs). Compare halve, behalf.

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: half, healf, *halb, *halbaz

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈhäːf/
  • British English: /ˈhɑːf/

Usage

Inflected Forms

halves (plural) 'arf (alternative) ha'f (alternative) halfe (alternative) halves (present, singular) halving (participle, present) halved (participle, past) halved (past)

Derived Forms

halfalogue halfback halfbeak halfcock halfcourt halfer halfful halfhearted halfie halflife halfling halfmer

Phrases

ain't half and a half better half by halves call it half a day cry halves fly-half fly half

Frequently Paired Words

quarter half- not half

Synonyms

½ semi- hemi- demi- bipartition bisect dichotomize dimidiate half halve half past halfly

Rhymes With

staff laugh fail-safe behalf graph calf raf giraffe graf graff chaff raff

Questions

How do you pronounce half?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈhäːf/.
What does half mean?
One of two usually roughly equal parts into which anything may be divided, or considered as divided.
Where does half come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce half

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “half”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈhäːf/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “half”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “half” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.