hal·ter

1 [hawl-ter]
noun
1.
a rope or strap with a noose or headstall for leading or restraining horses or cattle.
2.
a rope with a noose for hanging criminals; the hangman's noose; gallows.
3.
death by hanging.
4.
Also called halter top. a woman's top, secured behind the neck and across the back, leaving the arms, shoulders, upperback, and often the midriff bare.
verb (used with object)
5.
to put a halter on; restrain as by a halter.
6.
to hang (a person).
00:10
Halter is one of our favorite verbs.
So is bowdlerise. Does it mean:
to run away hurriedly; flee.
to expurgate (a written work) by removing or modifying passages considered vulgar or objectionable.
adjective
7.
(of a garment) having a neckline consisting of a cord, strap, band, or the like that is attached to or forms part of the front of a backless and sleeveless bodice and extends around the neck: a halter dress.

Origin:
before 1000; Middle English; Old English hælfter; cognate with German Halfter

hal·ter·like, adjective
un·hal·tered, adjective
un·hal·ter·ing, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged

hal·ter

2 [hal-ter]
noun, plural hal·te·res [hal-teer-eez] .
one of a pair of slender, club-shaped appendages on the hindmost body segment of a fly, serving to maintain its balance in flight.
Also called balancer.


Origin:
< Neo-Latin, special use of Latin halter jumping weight < Greek háltēr, akin to hállesthai, Latin salīre to jump (see saltant)

halt·er

3 [hawl-ter]
noun
a person who halts or brings to a stop.

Origin:
halt1 + -er1

halt·er

4 [hawl-ter]
noun
a person who halts, falters, or hesitates.

Origin:
1400–50; late Middle English; see halt2, -er1

halt

2 [hawlt]
verb (used without object)
1.
to falter, as in speech, reasoning, etc.; be hesitant; stumble.
2.
to be in doubt; waver between alternatives; vacillate.
3.
Archaic. to be lame; walk lamely; limp.
adjective
4.
Archaic. lame; limping.
noun
5.
Archaic. lameness; a limp.
6.
( used with a plural verb ) lame people, especially severely lamed ones (usually preceded by the ): the halt and the blind.

Origin:
before 900; Middle English; Old English healt; cognate with Old High German halz, Old Norse haltr, Gothic halts, akin to Latin clādēs damage, loss

halt·less, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To halter
Collins
World English Dictionary
halt1 (hɔːlt) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n
1.  an interruption or end to activity, movement, or progress
2.  chiefly (Brit) a minor railway station, without permanent buildings
3.  call a halt to put an end (to something); stop
 
n, —sentence substitute
4.  a command to halt, esp as an order when marching
 
vb
5.  to come or bring to a halt
 
[C17: from the phrase to make halt, translation of German halt machen, from halten to hold1, stop]

halt2 (hɔːlt) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
vb
1.  (esp of logic or verse) to falter or be defective
2.  to waver or be unsure
3.  archaic to be lame
 
adj
4.  archaic
 a.  lame
 b.  (as collective noun; preceded by the): the halt
 
n
5.  archaic lameness
 
[Old English healt lame; related to Old Norse haltr, Old High German halz lame, Greek kólos maimed, Old Slavonic kladivo hammer]

halter (ˈhɔːltə) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n
1.  a rope or canvas headgear for a horse, usually with a rope for leading
2.  Also called: halterneck a style of woman's top fastened behind the neck and waist, leaving the back and arms bare
3.  a rope having a noose for hanging a person
4.  death by hanging
 
vb
5.  to secure with a halter or put a halter on
6.  to hang (someone)
 
[Old English hælfter; related to Old High German halftra, Middle Dutch heliftra]

haltere or halter (ˈhæltɪə, ˈhæltə) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n , pl halteres
Also called: balancer one of a pair of short projections in dipterous insects that are modified hind wings, used for maintaining equilibrium during flight
 
[C18: from Greek haltēres (plural) hand-held weights used as balancers or to give impetus in leaping, from hallesthai to leap]
 
halter or halter (ˈhæltɪə, ˈhæltə, hælˈtɪəriːz) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n
 
[C18: from Greek haltēres (plural) hand-held weights used as balancers or to give impetus in leaping, from hallesthai to leap]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

halt
"stop," 1622, from Fr. halte or It. alto, ult. from Ger. Halt, imperative from O.H.G. halten "to hold" (see hold). A Ger. military command borrowed into the Romance languages 16c.

halt
"lame," in O.E. lemphalt "limping," from P.Gmc. *haltaz (cf. O.Fris. halt, O.N. haltr, O.H.G. halz, Goth. halts "lame"), from PIE *qelad, from base *qela- "to break" (cf. Rus. koldyka "lame," Gk. kolobos "broken, curtailed").

halter
O.E. hælftre "halter for horses," from W.Gmc. *halftra- "that by which something is held" (cf. O.H.G. halftra, M.Du. halfter, see helve). In women's clothing sense, originally "strap attached to the top of a backless bodice and looped around the neck," 1935, later extended
to the tops themselves.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Easton
Bible Dictionary

Halt definition


lame on the feet (Gen. 32:31; Ps. 38:17). To "halt between two opinions" (1 Kings 18:21) is supposed by some to be an expression used in "allusion to birds, which hop from spray to spray, forwards and backwards." The LXX. render the expression "How long go ye lame on both knees?" The Hebrew verb rendered "halt" is used of the irregular dance ("leaped upon") around the altar (ver. 26). It indicates a lame, uncertain gait, going now in one direction, now in another, in the frenzy of wild leaping.

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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Example sentences
If you're using the gentle leader harness it's not nearly as effective as the
  halter thing, the one that goes over the nose.
The loud-mouthed comic chose a sunny-hued halter dress.
First, she improvises a halter and quadruple-wrapped ribbon belt to hoist up
  her underskirt.
The halter gently tightens up when the dog pulls away from you so it teaches
  the dog to walk correctly.
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