Halter
/ˈhɔltɚ/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
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 One who halts or limps; a cripple.
- 3 Alternative form of haltere. alt-of, alternative
- 4 either of the rudimentary hind wings of dipterous insects; used for maintaining equilibrium during flight wordnet
- 5 A rope with a noose, for hanging criminals; the gallows rope.
"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 [translating hart]."
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 a woman's top that fastens behind the back and neck leaving the back and arms uncovered wordnet
- 7 A halter top.
- 8 rope or canvas headgear for a horse, with a rope for leading wordnet
- 9 a rope that is used by a hangman to execute persons who have been condemned to death by hanging wordnet
Verb
- 1 To place a halter on. transitive
"What do you mean, you didn't halter the horses when we stopped for the night?"
- 2 prevent the progress or free movement of wordnet
- 3 hang with a halter wordnet
Example
More examples"Tom pulled on the halter in order to guide the horse to the stables."
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English halter, helter, helfter, from Old English hælfter, hælftre (“halter”), from Proto-West Germanic *halftrijā (“harness”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kelH- (“to cut”), equivalent to half- + -ter. Cognate with Scots helter (“halter”), Dutch halfter, halster (“halter”), Low German halfter, helchter, halter (“halter”), German Halfter (“halter, holster”).
Etymology 2
From halt + -er.