halfway

C1 Topic:Describing Qualities

Also spelled half-way

US /ˌhæfˈweɪ/ UK /hɑːfˈweɪ/ See IPA manual

Freq #4001

Meanings

1

adv
At or to a point that is the middle between two places.

I was already halfway home when I realized I had lost my keys.
2

adj
At a point midway between two ends or extremes.

He gave up at the halfway point of the marathon.
3

adv
To some degree; moderately.

All I want is a halfway decent place to sleep.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adv · at or to a point that is... midway

2 adj · at a point midway between... middle midway

3 adv · to some degree; moderately. partway

Word family

Related forms halfways

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

halfway mark
The point at which half of a distance, period, or task has been completed.

Adjective + noun

Idioms (1)

See all

meet someone halfway
to compromise with someone

Etymology

From Middle English halfwey, from Old English healfweġ (“half-way”), equivalent to half- + way. Compare partway. Cognate with Saterland Frisian hoolfwais (“halfway”), Dutch halfweg (“halfway”), German halbwegs (“halfway”), Danish halvvejs (“halfway”), Swedish halvvägs (“halfway”).

halfwey Middle English healfweġ Old English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# halfway

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C1
**Part of speech:** adv, adj
**IPA (US):** /ˌhæfˈweɪ/
**IPA (UK):** /hɑːfˈweɪ/
**Frequency rank:** 4001

## Meanings
1. At or to a point that is the middle between two places.
2. At a point midway between two ends or extremes.
3. To some degree; moderately.

## Examples
- I was already halfway home when I realized I had lost my keys.
- He gave up at the halfway point of the marathon.
- All I want is a halfway decent place to sleep.

## Related Forms
- halfways

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: halfwey
- Root: healfweġ

## Etymology
From Middle English halfwey, from Old English healfweġ (“half-way”), equivalent to half- + way. Compare partway. Cognate with Saterland Frisian hoolfwais (“halfway”), Dutch halfweg (“halfway”), German halbwegs (“halfway”), Danish halvvejs (“halfway”), Swedish halvvägs (“halfway”).

## AI Etymology
Halfway comes from Middle English halfwey, from Old English healfweġ (“half-way”), equivalent to half- + way. Compare partway. Cognate with Saterland Frisian hoolfwais (“halfway”), Dutch halfweg (“halfway”), German halbwegs (“halfway”), Danish halvvejs (“halfway”), Swedish halvvägs (“halfway”). The historical chain includes halfwey (Middle English) and healfweġ (Old English). The surrounding word family includes related forms such as halfways. In present use it covers at or to a point that is the middle between two places, at a point midway between two ends or extremes, and to some degree; moderately.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

markdown