halter









halter


< /hælˈtɪər iz/.

  1. one of a pair of slender, club-shaped appendages on the hindmost body segment of a fly, serving to maintain its balance in flight.

noun

  1. a person who halts or brings to a stop.

noun

  1. a person who halts, falters, or hesitates.

verb (used without object)

  1. to falter, as in speech, reasoning, etc.; be hesitant; stumble.
  2. to be in doubt; waver between alternatives; vacillate.
  3. Archaic. to be lame; walk lamely; limp.

adjective

  1. Archaic. lame; limping.

noun

  1. Archaic. lameness; a limp.
  2. (used with a plural verb) lame people, especially severely lamed ones (usually preceded by the): the halt and the blind.

noun

  1. a rope or canvas headgear for a horse, usually with a rope for leading
  2. Also called: halterneck a style of woman’s top fastened behind the neck and waist, leaving the back and arms bare
  3. a rope having a noose for hanging a person
  4. death by hanging

verb (tr)

  1. to secure with a halter or put a halter on
  2. to hang (someone)

noun

  1. an interruption or end to activity, movement, or progress
  2. mainly British a minor railway station, without permanent buildings
  3. call a halt to put an end (to something); stop

noun, sentence substitute

  1. a command to halt, esp as an order when marching

verb

  1. to come or bring to a halt

verb (intr)

  1. (esp of logic or verse) to falter or be defective
  2. to waver or be unsure
  3. archaic to be lame

adjective

  1. archaic
    1. lame
    2. (as collective noun; preceded by the)the halt

noun

  1. archaic lameness
n.

Old English hælftre “rope for leading a horse,” from West Germanic *halftra- “that by which something is held” (cf. Old Saxon haliftra “halter,” Old High German halftra, Middle Dutch halfter; see helve). In women’s clothing sense, originally “strap attached to the top of a backless bodice and looped around the neck,” 1935, later extended to the tops themselves.

n.

“a stop, a halting,” 1590s, from French halte (16c.) or Italian alto, ultimately from German Halt, imperative from Old High German halten “to hold” (see hold (v.)). A German military command borrowed into the Romanic languages 16c. The verb in this sense is from 1650s, from the noun. Related: Halted; halting.

adj.

“lame,” in Old English lemphalt “limping,” from Proto-Germanic *haltaz (cf. Old Saxon, Old Frisian halt, Old Norse haltr, Old High German halz, Gothic halts “lame”), from PIE *keld-, from root *kel- “to strike, cut,” with derivatives meaning “something broken or cut off” (cf. Russian koldyka “lame,” Greek kolobos “broken, curtailed”). The noun meaning “one who limps; the lame collectively” is from c.1200.

v.

“to walk unsteadily,” early 14c., from Old English haltian “to be lame,” from the same source as halt (adj.). The meaning “make a halt” is 1650s, from halt (n.). As a command word, attested from 1796. Related: Halted; halting.

see call a halt; come to a halt; grind to a halt.

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