halter Hear it!

halter1 definition

hal·ter (hôl′tər)

noun

    1. a rope, cord, strap, etc., usually with a headstall, for tying or leading an animal
    2. a bitless headstall, with or without a lead rope
    1. a rope for hanging a person; hangman's noose
    2. execution by hanging
  3. a garment for covering the breast, held up by a cord or loop around the neck, and worn by women and girls to bare the shoulders and back

Etymology: ME < OE hælftre (akin to Ger halfter) < base of helfe (see helve): basic sense “that by which something is held”

transitive verb

  1. to put a halter on (an animal); tie with a halter
  2. to hang (a person)
halter2 definition

hal·ter (hôl′tər, hal′-)

noun pl. halteres hal·te′res (-tir′ēz)

either of a pair of knobbed, threadlike, modified second wings serving as balancing organs in dipteran insects
also haltere hal′·tere′ (-tir′)

Etymology: ModL < L, lead weights < Gr haltēr, weight held (to give impetus) in leaping < hallesthai, to leap < IE base *sel- > L salire

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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