halt
English
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
From Middle English halten, from Old English healtian (“to be lame, walk with a limp”), from Proto-Germanic *haltōną, related to *haltaz. English usage in the sense of 'make a halt' is from the noun. Cognate with North Frisian halte, Swedish halta.
Verb
halt (third-person singular simple present halts, present participle halting, simple past and past participle halted) (obsolete)
- (intransitive) To limp; move with a limping gait.
- c. 1601–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Twelfe Night, or What You Will”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene i]:
- Here comes Sir Toby halting — you shall hear more; but if he had not been in drink, he would have tickled you othergates than he did.
- 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene i]:
- Do not smile at me that I boast her of,
For thou shalt find she will outstrip all praise,
And make it halt behind her.
- (intransitive) To stand in doubt whether to proceed, or what to do; hesitate; be uncertain; linger; delay; mammer.
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 1 Kings 18:21:
- How long halt ye between two opinions?
- (intransitive) To be lame, faulty, or defective, as in connection with ideas, or in measure, or in versification.
- To waver.
- To falter.
Translations
Etymology 2
From Middle French halt, from early modern German halt (“stop!”), imperative of halten (“to hold, to stop”). More at hold.
Verb
halt (third-person singular simple present halts, present participle halting, simple past and past participle halted)
- (intransitive) To stop marching.
- (intransitive) To stop either temporarily or permanently.
- 1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter I, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:
- And it was while all were passionately intent upon the pleasing and snake-like progress of their uncle that a young girl in furs, ascending the stairs two at a time, peeped perfunctorily into the nursery as she passed the hallway—and halted amazed.
- (transitive) To bring to a stop.
- (transitive) To cause to discontinue.
- The contract negotiations halted operations for at least a week.
Synonyms
- (to stop marching):
- (to stop): brake, desist, stay; See also Thesaurus:stop
- (to cause something to stop): freeze, immobilize; See also Thesaurus:immobilize
- (to cause to discontinue): break off, terminate, shut down, stop; See also Thesaurus:desist
Translations
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Noun
halt (plural halts)
- A cessation, either temporary or permanent.
- The contract negotiations put a halt to operations.
- 1702–1704, Edward [Hyde, 1st] Earl of Clarendon, “(please specify |book=I to XVI)”, in The History of the Rebellion and Civil Wars in England, Begun in the Year 1641. […], Oxford, Oxfordshire: Printed at the Theater, published 1707, →OCLC:
- Without any halt they marched.
- 1962 April, R. K. Evans, “The Acceptance Testing of Diesel Locomotives”, in Modern Railways, page 268:
- Because most diesel failures can be traced to electrical faults, minor in themselves but often difficult to pin-point, any unscheduled halt during a trial run is often the signal for the frenzied unfolding of wiring diagrams and the appearance of an impressive array of voltmeters and circuit testers.
- (rail transport) A minor railway station (usually unstaffed) in the United Kingdom.
- The halt itself never achieved much importance, even with workers coming to and from the adjacent works.
- 1961 November, H. G. Ellison, P. G. Barlow, “Journey through France: Part One”, in Trains Illustrated, page 668:
- On once more we swung, bumping uneasily along in the antique narrow-gauge coach, with gloomy woods and gathering night outside, shouts and songs (and quacks) inside—this was not at all the sort of train ordained by the logical strategists in Paris—then grinding to a stop at a mysterious halt which was no more than a nameboard in the pinewoods, without even a footpath leading to it, but nevertheless with a solitary passenger stolidly waiting.
Synonyms
- (cessation: temporary): hiatus, moratorium, recess; see also Thesaurus:pause
- (cessation: permanent): close, endpoint, terminus; see also Thesaurus:finish
Derived terms
Translations
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Etymology 3
From Middle English halt, from Old English healt, from Proto-West Germanic *halt, from Proto-Germanic *haltaz (“halt, lame”), from Proto-Indo-European *kol-d-, from Proto-Indo-European *kel- (“to beat, strike, cut, slash”). Cognate with Danish halt, Swedish halt.
Adjective
halt (comparative more halt, superlative most halt)
- (archaic) Lame, limping.
- 1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], →OCLC, Mark:
- It is better for the to goo halt into lyfe, then with ij. fete to be cast into hell […]
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Luke 14:21:
- Bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind.
Noun
halt (plural halts)
Etymology 4
Noun
halt (plural halts)
- (British, Ireland) A small railroad station, usually unstaffed or with very few staff, and with few or no facilities.
- 2024 June 10, Wikipedia contributors, “Train station”, in English Wikipedia[1], Wikimedia Foundation:
- Halts were normally unstaffed, tickets being sold on the train.
Derived terms
Anagrams
Alemannic German
Etymology
From Middle High German halt. Cognate with German halt (adverb).
Pronunciation
Adverb
halt
- so, just, simply
- 1978, Rolf Lyssy & Christa Maerker, Die Schweizermacher, (transcript):
- Chömmer halt e chli früner. Schadet a nüt.
- So we'll arrive a little earlier. Won't do any harm.
- 1978, Rolf Lyssy & Christa Maerker, Die Schweizermacher, (transcript):
Czech
Pronunciation
Interjection
halt
- Alternative form of holt
Danish
Etymology
Adjective
halt
East Central German
Etymology
Adjective
halt
- (Erzgebirgisch) so, just, simply
- Sis halt su.
- It's just like that.
Further reading
- 2020 June 11, Hendrik Heidler, Hendrik Heidler's 400 Seiten: Echtes Erzgebirgisch: Wuu de Hasen Hoosn haaßn un de Hosen Huusn do sei mir drhamm: Das Original Wörterbuch: Ratgeber und Fundgrube der erzgebirgischen Mund- und Lebensart: Erzgebirgisch – Deutsch / Deutsch – Erzgebirgisch[2], 3. geänderte Auflage edition, Norderstedt: BoD – Books on Demand, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 57:
German
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
From the verb halten (“to hold; to stop”).
Verb
halt
Interjection
halt!
Descendants
- → Dutch: halt
- → Italian: alt
- → Spanish: alto
- → Portuguese: alto
- → Swedish: halt
- → Middle French: halt
Etymology 2
From Middle High German halt, pertaining to Old High German halto (“soon, fast”). Ultimately from Proto-Germanic *haldiz, an adverbial comparative like *batiz.
Adverb
halt
- (colloquial, modal particle) Indicating that something is generally known, or cannot be changed, or the like; often untranslatable; so, just, simply, indeed, well
- Synonym: eben
- Er ist halt ein Idiot. ― Well, he’s an idiot.
- Dann müssen wir halt härter arbeiten.
- Then we’ll just have to work harder.
Usage notes
- The word is originally southern German and is still considered so by some contemporary dictionaries. It has, however, become common throughout the language area during the past decades.
Descendants
- → Czech: holt
See also
Further reading
- “halt” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
Hungarian
Etymology
hal (“to die”) + -t (past-tense and past-participle suffix)
Pronunciation
Verb
halt
Usage notes
This form normally occurs when a verbal prefix is separated from the verb:
- halt (…) meg, meg … halt ― meghalt ― meghal
- and some more, see its derivatives with verbal prefixes.
Participle
halt
- past participle of hal
Declension
Inflection (stem in -a-, back harmony) | ||
---|---|---|
singular | plural | |
nominative | halt | haltak |
accusative | haltat | haltakat |
dative | haltnak | haltaknak |
instrumental | halttal | haltakkal |
causal-final | haltért | haltakért |
translative | halttá | haltakká |
terminative | haltig | haltakig |
essive-formal | haltként | haltakként |
essive-modal | — | — |
inessive | haltban | haltakban |
superessive | halton | haltakon |
adessive | haltnál | haltaknál |
illative | haltba | haltakba |
sublative | haltra | haltakra |
allative | halthoz | haltakhoz |
elative | haltból | haltakból |
delative | haltról | haltakról |
ablative | halttól | haltaktól |
non-attributive possessive - singular |
halté | haltaké |
non-attributive possessive - plural |
haltéi | haltakéi |
Irish
Pronunciation
Noun
halt m
- h-prothesized form of alt
Norwegian Nynorsk
Etymology 1
From Old Norse haltr, from Proto-Germanic *haltaz.
Pronunciation
Adjective
halt (indefinite singular halt, definite singular and plural halte, comparative haltare, indefinite superlative haltast, definite superlative haltaste)
Verb
halt
- imperative of halta
Etymology 2
See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.
Participle
halt (definite singular and plural halte)
- past participle of hala
Verb
halt
References
- “halt” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
Old French
Etymology
From a conflation of Frankish *hauh, *hōh (“high, tall, elevated”) and Latin altus (“high, raised, profound”).
Pronunciation
Adjective
halt m (oblique and nominative feminine singular halte)
Adverb
halt
Derived terms
Descendants
Old Norse
Adjective
halt
Verb
halt
Swedish
Etymology
Pronunciation
Audio: (file)
Noun
halt c
- content, level (relative amount of something, in a mixture or the like)
- alkoholhalt
- alcohol content
- fetthalt
- fat content
- sanningshalt
- veracity ("truth content")
- en hög halt av alkohol i blodet
- a high concentration of alcohol in the blood
- stopping (during a march, or more generally)
- Hären gjorde halt
- The army stopped ("made halt")
Declension
Declension of halt | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Singular | Plural | |||
Indefinite | Definite | Indefinite | Definite | |
Nominative | halt | halten | halter | halterna |
Genitive | halts | haltens | halters | halternas |
Related terms
Interjection
halt
Adjective
halt (not comparable)
Declension
Inflection of halt | |||
---|---|---|---|
Indefinite | Positive | Comparative | Superlative2 |
Common singular | halt | — | — |
Neuter singular | halt | — | — |
Plural | halta | — | — |
Masculine plural3 | halte | — | — |
Definite | Positive | Comparative | Superlative |
Masculine singular1 | halte | — | — |
All | halta | — | — |
1) Only used, optionally, to refer to things whose natural gender is masculine. 2) The indefinite superlative forms are only used in the predicative. 3) Dated or archaic |
Related terms
Adjective
halt
References
- English 1-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- Rhymes:English/ɒlt
- Rhymes:English/ɒlt/1 syllable
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms inherited from Old English
- English terms derived from Old English
- English terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- English lemmas
- English verbs
- English obsolete terms
- English intransitive verbs
- English terms with quotations
- English terms derived from Middle French
- English terms derived from German
- English transitive verbs
- English terms with usage examples
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- en:Rail transportation
- English terms inherited from Proto-West Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-West Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English adjectives
- English terms with archaic senses
- English dated terms
- English terms borrowed from French
- English terms derived from French
- British English
- Irish English
- English ergative verbs
- en:Gaits
- Alemannic German terms inherited from Middle High German
- Alemannic German terms derived from Middle High German
- Alemannic German terms with IPA pronunciation
- Alemannic German lemmas
- Alemannic German adverbs
- Alemannic German terms with quotations
- Czech terms with IPA pronunciation
- Czech lemmas
- Czech interjections
- Danish terms inherited from Old Norse
- Danish terms derived from Old Norse
- Danish lemmas
- Danish adjectives
- East Central German lemmas
- East Central German adverbs
- Erzgebirgisch
- East Central German terms with usage examples
- German 1-syllable words
- German terms with IPA pronunciation
- German non-lemma forms
- German verb forms
- German lemmas
- German interjections
- German terms inherited from Middle High German
- German terms derived from Middle High German
- German terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- German terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- German adverbs
- German colloquialisms
- German terms with usage examples
- German modal particles
- Hungarian terms with IPA pronunciation
- Rhymes:Hungarian/ɒlt
- Rhymes:Hungarian/ɒlt/1 syllable
- Hungarian non-lemma forms
- Hungarian verb forms
- Hungarian participles
- Hungarian past participles
- Irish terms with IPA pronunciation
- Irish non-lemma forms
- Irish mutated nouns
- Irish h-prothesized forms
- Norwegian Nynorsk terms inherited from Old Norse
- Norwegian Nynorsk terms derived from Old Norse
- Norwegian Nynorsk terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- Norwegian Nynorsk terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- Norwegian Nynorsk terms with homophones
- Norwegian Nynorsk lemmas
- Norwegian Nynorsk adjectives
- Norwegian Nynorsk non-lemma forms
- Norwegian Nynorsk verb forms
- Norwegian Nynorsk participles
- Norwegian Nynorsk past participles
- Old French terms derived from Frankish
- Old French terms inherited from Latin
- Old French terms derived from Latin
- Old French terms with IPA pronunciation
- Old French lemmas
- Old French adjectives
- Old French adverbs
- Old Norse non-lemma forms
- Old Norse adjective forms
- Old Norse verb forms
- Swedish terms borrowed from German
- Swedish terms derived from German
- Swedish terms with audio links
- Swedish lemmas
- Swedish nouns
- Swedish common-gender nouns
- Swedish terms with usage examples
- Swedish interjections
- Swedish adjectives
- Swedish uncomparable adjectives
- Swedish non-lemma forms
- Swedish adjective forms