behalf B1 Topic:People & Society US /bɪˈhæf/ UK /bɪˈhɑːf/ See IPA manual Freq #3288 Meanings 1 noun Acting as the representative of, or for the benefit of, someone else (usually in 'on behalf of'). The guardian signed the contract on behalf of the child. Thesaurus Word family Forms behalfs Derived forms behalfism Etymology AI details From Middle English bihalve (“nearby”), from Old English bī healfe (“by [his/her] side”), from bī (“by”) + healfe (“side, half”), equivalent to be- + half. bihalve Middle English bī healfe Old English View etymology graph -> Topics People & Society External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # behalf **Type:** Word **Level:** B1 **Part of speech:** noun **IPA (US):** /bɪˈhæf/ **IPA (UK):** /bɪˈhɑːf/ **Frequency rank:** 3288 ## Meanings 1. Acting as the representative of, or for the benefit of, someone else (usually in 'on behalf of'). ## Examples - The guardian signed the contract on behalf of the child. ## Derived Forms - behalfism ## Roots and Affixes - Root: bihalve - Root: bī healfe ## Etymology From Middle English bihalve (“nearby”), from Old English bī healfe (“by [his/her] side”), from bī (“by”) + healfe (“side, half”), equivalent to be- + half. ## AI Etymology Behalf comes from Middle English bihalve (“nearby”), from Old English bī healfe (“by [his/her] side”), from bī (“by”) + healfe (“side, half”), equivalent to be- + half. ## Topics - People & Society markdown