halse

See also: Halse and Hälse

English

Pronunciation

• (Northern England) IPA^(key): [hoːs], [haːs], [hoːz]
• Rhymes: -ɔːs

Etymology 1

From Middle English hals, from Old English heals (“neck, prow of a ship”), from Proto-West Germanic *hals, from Proto-Germanic *halsaz (“neck”), from Proto-Indo-European *kols-, *ḱols- (“neck”).

Cognate with Dutch hals (“neck, throat”), German Hals (“neck, throat”), Norwegian hals (“neck, throat”), Swedish hals (“neck, throat”), Latin collum (“neck”).

Alternative forms

• hawse (Scotland)

Noun

halse (plural halses)

1. (anatomy, archaic) The neck; the throat.

   Well, as you know they used to hang folk by the halse for horse theft.

Derived terms

• halseman

Etymology 2

From Middle English halsen, halchen, from Old English *halsian, *healsian (“to embrace”, literally “to fall upon the neck of”), from heals (“neck”). See above. Cognate with Old Saxon helsjen (“to embrace”), Old High German halsōn (German halsen (“to jibe”)), Icelandic hálsa (“to embrace”).

Alternative forms

• haulse
• halsh (dialectal)
• hawse, hose (Scotland)

Verb

halse (third-person singular simple present halses, present participle halsing, simple past and past participle halsed)

1. (dialectal) To fall upon the neck of; hug; embrace.
   • 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, “xxj”, in Le Morte Darthur, book VIII:

     soo the Kyng took a lytel hackney and but fewe felauship with him vntyl he came vnto sir Tristrams pauelione / and whanne syre Trystram sawe the Kynge / he ranne vnto hym and wold haue holden his styrope / But the kynge lepte from his hors lyghtly / and eyther halsed other in armes

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Related terms

• enhalse

Etymology 3

From Middle English halsen, halsien (“to beseech, adjure”), from Old English healsian, hālsian (“to entreat earnestly, beseech, implore”), from Proto-Germanic *hailisōną (“to greet”), from Proto-Indo-European *kailo-, *kailu- (“whole, safe”).

Cognate with Middle High German heilsen (“to predict”), Swedish hälsa (“to greet”), Icelandic heilsa (“to salute”). More at whole, hailse.

Verb

halse (third-person singular simple present halses, present participle halsing, simple past and past participle halsed)

1. (transitive) To greet; salute; hail.
2. (transitive) To beseech; adjure.

Related terms

• halsen

Etymology 4

From Middle English hals (“neck”), from Old Norse háls (“neck, part of the forecastle or bow of a ship”), from Proto-Germanic *halsaz (“neck”). See Etymology 1. Cognate with Danish hals (“neck, tack”).

Alternative forms

• hawse

Noun

halse (plural halses)

1. Alternative form of hawse

Verb

halse (third-person singular simple present halses, present participle halsing, simple past and past participle halsed)

1. (obsolete) To haul; to hoist.

Anagrams

• helas, leash, hales, Selah, heals, Sahel, Saleh, sheal, shale, selah, Heals, Hales, Shalë

Danish

Noun

halse c

1. indefinite plural of hals

Verb

halse (imperative hals, infinitive at halse, present tense halser, past tense halsede, perfect tense har halset)

1. bark

   Hunden halser: The dog is barking

2. rush

   halse efter: rush after

Synonyms

• (bark): gø

Middle English

Verb

halse

1. Alternative form of halsen