halter1

[hawl-ter] /ˈhɔl tər/
noun
1.
a rope or strap with a noose or headstall for leading or restraining horses or cattle.
2.
a rope with a noose for hanging criminals; the hangman's noose; gallows.
3.
death by hanging.
4.
Also called halter top. a woman's top, secured behind the neck and across the back, leaving the arms, shoulders, upperback, and often the midriff bare.
verb (used with object)
5.
to put a halter on; restrain as by a halter.
6.
to hang (a person).
adjective
7.
(of a garment) having a neckline consisting of a cord, strap, band, or the like that is attached to or forms part of the front of a backless and sleeveless bodice and extends around the neck:
a halter dress.
Origin
before 1000; Middle English; Old English hælfter; cognate with German Halfter
Related forms
halterlike, adjective
unhaltered, adjective
unhaltering, adjective

halter2

[hal-ter] /ˈhæl tər/
noun, plural halteres
[hal-teer-eez] /hælˈtɪər iz/ (Show IPA)
1.
one of a pair of slender, club-shaped appendages on the hindmost body segment of a fly, serving to maintain its balance in flight.
Also called balancer.
Origin
< Neo-Latin, special use of Latin halter jumping weight < Greek háltēr, akin to hállesthai, Latin salīre to jump (see saltant)

halter3

[hawl-ter] /ˈhɔl tər/
noun
1.
a person who halts or brings to a stop.
Origin
halt1 + -er1

halter4

[hawl-ter] /ˈhɔl tər/
noun
1.
a person who halts, falters, or hesitates.
Origin
1400-50; late Middle English; see halt2, -er1

halt2

[hawlt] /hɔlt/
verb (used without object)
1.
to falter, as in speech, reasoning, etc.; be hesitant; stumble.
2.
to be in doubt; waver between alternatives; vacillate.
3.
Archaic. to be lame; walk lamely; limp.
adjective
4.
Archaic. lame; limping.
noun
5.
Archaic. lameness; a limp.
6.
(used with a plural verb) lame people, especially severely lamed ones (usually preceded by the):
the halt and the blind.
Origin
before 900; Middle English; Old English healt; cognate with Old High German halz, Old Norse haltr, Gothic halts, akin to Latin clādēs damage, loss
Related forms
haltless, adjective
Examples from the web for halter
  • Flanking them are halter-topped honeys with long, two-tone hair.
  • Four or five mules long, a string is fashioned, each mule's halter tied to the rear of the next mule's aparejo.
  • Although, having my neuroscience quote tattooed on my back to where it sticks out of halter tops is a fun party trick.
  • The loud-mouthed comic chose a sunny-hued halter dress.
  • Yet the filmmakers hold out the possibility of new life stirring under the domestic halter and the intellectual sloth.
  • The halter gently tightens up when the dog pulls away from you so it teaches the dog to walk correctly.
  • If you're using the gentle leader harness it's not nearly as effective as the halter thing, the one that goes over the nose.
  • But the roan is tired too, so it simply pulls back on its halter and gives a shivering nicker.
  • First, she improvises a halter and quadruple-wrapped ribbon belt to hoist up her underskirt.
  • One day you will want to wear a halter-necked backless gown.
British Dictionary definitions for halter

halter

/ˈhɔːltə/
noun
1.
a rope or canvas headgear for a horse, usually with a rope for leading
2.
Also called halterneck. a style of woman's top fastened behind the neck and waist, leaving the back and arms bare
3.
a rope having a noose for hanging a person
4.
death by hanging
verb (transitive)
5.
to secure with a halter or put a halter on
6.
to hang (someone)
Word Origin
Old English hælfter; related to Old High German halftra, Middle Dutch heliftra

haltere

/ˈhæltɪə/
noun (pl) halteres (hælˈtɪəriːz)
1.
one of a pair of short projections in dipterous insects that are modified hind wings, used for maintaining equilibrium during flight Also called balancer
Word Origin
C18: from Greek haltēres (plural) hand-held weights used as balancers or to give impetus in leaping, from hallesthai to leap

halt1

/hɔːlt/
noun
1.
an interruption or end to activity, movement, or progress
2.
(mainly Brit) a minor railway station, without permanent buildings
3.
call a halt, to put an end (to something); stop
noun, sentence substitute
4.
a command to halt, esp as an order when marching
verb
5.
to come or bring to a halt
Word Origin
C17: from the phrase to make halt, translation of German halt machen, from halten to hold1, stop

halt2

/hɔːlt/
verb (intransitive)
1.
(esp of logic or verse) to falter or be defective
2.
to waver or be unsure
3.
(archaic) to be lame
adjective
4.
(archaic)
  1. lame
  2. (as collective noun; preceded by the): the halt
noun
5.
(archaic) lameness
Word Origin
Old English healt lame; related to Old Norse haltr, Old High German halz lame, Greek kólos maimed, Old Slavonic kladivo hammer
Word Origin and History for halter
n.

Old English hælftre "rope for leading a horse," from West Germanic *halftra- "that by which something is held" (cf. Old Saxon haliftra "halter," Old High German halftra, Middle Dutch halfter; see helve). In women's clothing sense, originally "strap attached to the top of a backless bodice and looped around the neck," 1935, later extended to the tops themselves.

halt

n.

"a stop, a halting," 1590s, from French halte (16c.) or Italian alto, ultimately from German Halt, imperative from Old High German halten "to hold" (see hold (v.)). A German military command borrowed into the Romanic languages 16c. The verb in this sense is from 1650s, from the noun. Related: Halted; halting.

adj.

"lame," in Old English lemphalt "limping," from Proto-Germanic *haltaz (cf. Old Saxon, Old Frisian halt, Old Norse haltr, Old High German halz, Gothic halts "lame"), from PIE *keld-, from root *kel- "to strike, cut," with derivatives meaning "something broken or cut off" (cf. Russian koldyka "lame," Greek kolobos "broken, curtailed"). The noun meaning "one who limps; the lame collectively" is from c.1200.

v.

"to walk unsteadily," early 14c., from Old English haltian "to be lame," from the same source as halt (adj.). The meaning "make a halt" is 1650s, from halt (n.). As a command word, attested from 1796. Related: Halted; halting.

halter in the Bible

lame on the feet (Gen. 32:31; Ps. 38:17). To "halt between two opinions" (1 Kings 18:21) is supposed by some to be an expression used in "allusion to birds, which hop from spray to spray, forwards and backwards." The LXX. render the expression "How long go ye lame on both knees?" The Hebrew verb rendered "halt" is used of the irregular dance ("leaped upon") around the altar (ver. 26). It indicates a lame, uncertain gait, going now in one direction, now in another, in the frenzy of wild leaping.

Idioms and Phrases with halter

halt

see: