Where does “half” come from?

half (Middle English) comes from Old English healf, from Proto-Germanic *halb, from Proto-Germanic halbaz, from Proto-Indo-European (s)kelH-, from Proto-Indo-European (s)kel- — to bend, crook; bent, crooked; leg, heel, knee,...

half (Middle English): half

Definitions

  1. half

Ancestry of “half”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishhealfside; half; partly
2Proto-Germanic*halb—
3Proto-Germanichalbazhalf
4Proto-Indo-European(s)kelH-to cut; to split, to separate
5Proto-Indo-European(s)kel-to bend, crook; bent, crooked; leg, heel, knee,...

Words derived from “half”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European (s)kel- →