healf

Old English

Alternative forms

half, halb

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /xæ͜ɑlf/, [hæ͜ɑɫf]

Etymology 1

From Proto-West Germanic *halbu, from Proto-Germanic *halbō.

Noun

healf f

side
- c. 992, Ælfric, "Easter Sunday"
  Sē enġel sæt on þā swīðran healfe þǣre byrġene.
  The angel sat on the right side of the tomb.
- late 9th century, translation of Orosius' History Against the Pagans
  Sċotland is on ǣlċe healfe ymbfangen mid gārseċġe.
  Ireland is surrounded by ocean on all sides (literally every side).
- translation of Orosius' History Against the Pagans
  Þǣr wǣron swā miċele manslihtas on ǣġðre healfe þæt hīe man æt nīehstan bebyrġan ne meahte.
  So many people were killed on either side that they were eventually unable to bury them.
half
- late 10th century, Ælfric, On the Seasons of the Year
  On þā healfe þe sēo sunne sċīnþ þǣr biþ dæġ, and on þā healfe þe hēo ne sċīnþ þǣr biþ niht.
  On the half where the sun shines there is day, and on the half where it doesn't shine there is night.

Declension

Strong ō-stem:

	singular	plural
nominative	healf	healfa, healfe
accusative	healfe	healfa, healfe
genitive	healfe	healfa
dative	healfe	healfum

Etymology 2

From Proto-West Germanic *halb, from Proto-Germanic *halbaz.

Cognate with Old Frisian half, Old Saxon half, Old Dutch *half, Old High German halb, Old Norse halfr, Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐌻𐌱𐍃 (halbs).

Adjective

healf

half
- c. 992, Ælfric, "Passion of the Same"
  Sē cyning behēt þām apostole healf his rīċe.
  The king promised the apostle half his kingdom.
- c. 990, Wessex Gospels, Luke 19:8
  Iċ selle þearfum healfe mīne ǣhta, and ġif iċ ǣniġne berēafode, ic hit be fēowerfealdum āġiefe.
  I give half my property to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I give it back four times over.
- late 9th century, translation of Bede's Ecclesiastical History
  And þā æfter him Ēadrīċ ōðer healf ġēar þæt rīċe hæfde.
  And then, after him, Eadric ruled the kingdom for a year and a half.
- late 9th century, translation of Orosius' History Against the Pagans
  Heora man āhēng fifte healf hund.
  Four hundred and fifty of them were hanged (literally four and a half hundred).
- translation of Orosius' History Against the Pagans
  On his fēðeherġe wǣron twā and þrītiġ þūsend, and þæs ġehorsodan fifte healf þūsend, and sċipa ān hund and eahtatiġ.
  There were thirty-two thousand men in his infantry, four and a half thousand in his cavalry, and one hundred and eighty ships in his navy.
- late 10th century, Ælfric, On the Seasons of the Year
  Nān reġn cōm ofer Eorðan fēorðan healfum ġēare.
  No rain came over Earth for three and a half years.
- The Worcester Chronicle, year 892
  Sē bāt wæs ġeworht of þriddan healfre hīde þe hīe on fōron.
  The boat that they traveled on was made of two and a half hides.

Usage notes

A certain number and a half was expressed with the ordinal of the next highest number, plus the word healf. Thus one and a half is ōþer healf (literally "second half"), two and a half is þridda healf ("third half"), twenty-four and a half is fīf and twēntigoþa healf ("twenty-fifth half"), and so forth.

Additionally, the noun that "___ and a half" enumerates must be singular: 'six and a half pages' is seofoþa healf tramet, not *seofoþan healfe trametas. The one seeming exception is when "___ and a half" describes another number, as in þridde healf þūsend ċeacena ("two and a half thousand cakes"). Here "cakes" still has to be plural because "two and a half" describes the number of thousands, not the number of cakes. If the phrase was just "two and a half cakes," the noun would indeed be singular: þridde healf ċeace, not *þriddan healfa ċeacan.

Declension

Declension of healf — Strong

Singular	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	healf	healf	healf
Accusative	healfne	healfe	healf
Genitive	healfes	healfre	healfes
Dative	healfum	healfre	healfum
Instrumental	healfe	healfre	healfe
Plural	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	healfe	healfa, healfe	healf
Accusative	healfe	healfa, healfe	healf
Genitive	healfra	healfra	healfra
Dative	healfum	healfum	healfum
Instrumental	healfum	healfum	healfum

Declension of healf — Weak

Singular	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	healfa	healfe	healfe
Accusative	healfan	healfan	healfe
Genitive	healfan	healfan	healfan
Dative	healfan	healfan	healfan
Instrumental	healfan	healfan	healfan
Plural	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	healfan	healfan	healfan
Accusative	healfan	healfan	healfan
Genitive	healfra, healfena	healfra, healfena	healfra, healfena
Dative	healfum	healfum	healfum
Instrumental	healfum	healfum	healfum

Adverb

healf

half
- late 9th century, translation of Orosius' History Against the Pagans
  And þā Crētense hæfdon þone grimlīcan siġe, and ealle þā æðelestan bearn þāra Athēniānsa hīe ġenāmon and sealdon þām Mīnōtaurō tō etenne, þæt wæs healf mann, healf lēo.
  And the Cretans gained the cruel victory, and took all the noblest children of the Athenians and fed them to the Minotaur (a half man, half lion).

Derived terms

healf-

Descendants

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