Halter

Pronunciation

• GenAm IPA: /ˈhÉ”ltÉš/
• RP IPA: /ˈhɔːltÉ™/
• Rhymes: -ɔːltÉ™(ɹ)

From Middle English halter, helter, helfter, from Old English hælfter, hælftre ("halter"), from Proto-Germanic *halftrō, *halftrijaz ("harness"), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kel- ("to cut"), equivalent to - + ter + -. Cognate with Scots helter ("halter"), Dutch halfter, halster ("halter"), Low German halfter, helchter, halter ("halter"), German Halfter ("halter, holster").

Full definition of halter

Noun

1. A bitless headpiece of rope or straps, placed on the head of animals such as cattle or horses to lead or tie them.
2. A rope with a noose, for hanging criminals; the gallows rope.
• 1603, John Florio, translating Michel de Montaigne, Essays, II.12:And Crates said, that love was cured with hunger, if not by time; and in him that liked not these two meanes, by the halter .
• 1913, w, Lord Stranleigh Abroad Chapter 4, “… No rogue e’er felt the halter draw, with a good opinion of the law, and perhaps my own detestation of the law arises from my having frequently broken it. …”
3. A woman's garment covering the upper chest, a halter top.

Synonyms

• headstall
• headpiece
• headcollar British

Verb

1. To place a halter on.What do you mean, you didn't halter the horses when we stopped for the night?

Noun

1. One who halts or limps; a cripple.

Anagrams

• lather
• thaler