English
halfway
Halfway comes from Old English healfweġ ‘half-way’, from weġ ‘road’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *weǵʰ- ‘to convey, transport’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*weǵʰ-‘to convey, transport’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*wéǵʰeti‘to be transporting’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*weganą‘to move, carry’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wegaz‘way’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*weg‘way, road’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150weġ‘road’
- Old English, derivedc. 450–1150healfweġ‘half-way’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500halfwey
- Englishearliest quotation 1989halfway
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*weǵʰ-‘to convey, transport’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*wéǵʰeti‘to be transporting’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*weganą‘to move, carry’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wegaz‘way’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*weg‘way, road’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150weġ‘road’
- Old English, derivedc. 450–1150healfweġ‘half-way’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500halfwey
- Englishearliest quotation 1989halfway
Earliest quotation: 1989, Octavia E. Butler, Part III, Chapter 7: “Just over halfway up, we reached the Human settlement…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *weǵʰ- ‘to convey, transport’
via, vehicle, wave, reveal, vein, vogue, veil, wagon, wedge, venous, vex, wag, vena, wey, invective, velar, wain, waw, 40 more
through Proto-Indo-European *wéǵʰeti ‘to be transporting’
through Proto-Germanic *weganą ‘to move, carry’
through Old English weġ ‘road’
Today it means
adv Half of the way between two points.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *weǵʰ- / halfway