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halt1 definition

halt (hôlt)

noun

  1. a stop, esp. a temporary one, as in marching; pause or discontinuance
  2. a command to stop

Etymology: orig. in phr. to make halt, transl. of Ger halt machen < imper. of halten (see hold) + machen, make

intransitive verb, transitive verb

to come or bring to a halt; stop, esp. temporarily
halt Idioms

call a halt

☆
to order a stop, esp. temporarily
halt2 definition

halt (hôlt)

intransitive verb

  1. Archaic to walk with a crippled gait; limp; hobble
  2. to be uncertain; waver; hesitate to halt in one's speech
  3. to have defects; esp.,
    1. to have a faulty meter: said of verse
    2. to be illogical: said of argument

Etymology: ME halten < OE healtian < healt (see haltthe ), akin to MHG halzen

adjective

limping; crippled; lame

Etymology: ME halte < OE healt, halt, akin to MHG halz < IE base *kel-, to strike, hew (> L calamitas): basic sense “lamed by wounding”

noun

Archaic lameness
halt Idioms

the halt

those who are lame; cripples

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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