English
half
Half comes from Middle English half, and goes back to Proto-Germanic *halbaz.
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*halbazreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*halbreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150healf
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500half
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1587–1588half
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*halbazreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*halbreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150healf
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500half
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1587–1588half
Earliest quotation: c. 1587–1588, Christopher Marlowe, Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […]: “To be a King, is halfe to bee a…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *(s)kelH- ‘to cut’
skill, shell, shield, skull, shilling, shale, schilling, shoal, shelve, schelling, halter, 14 more
through Proto-Germanic *halbaz
through Middle English half
Today it means
noun One of two usually roughly equal parts into which anything may be divided, or considered as divided.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *halbaz / half