• Halter

    Pronunciation

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

    Origin 1

    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

    halter

    (plural halters)
    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. â€
    3. A woman's garment covering the upper chest, a halter top.

    Verb

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

    Origin 2

    Noun

    halter

    (plural halters)
    1. One who halts or limps; a cripple.

    Anagrams

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