Where does “half-” come from?

half- (Middle English) comes from Old English healf-, 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,...

Ancestry of “half-”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishhealf-half
2Old Englishhealfside; half; partly
3Proto-Germanic*halb—
4Proto-Germanichalbazhalf
5Proto-Indo-European(s)kelH-to cut; to split, to separate
6Proto-Indo-European(s)kel-to bend, crook; bent, crooked; leg, heel, knee,...

Words derived from “half-”

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