half-time meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

half-time

noun

Etymology From half- + time.

Hobbies, Lifestyle, Sports The interval between the two halves of a sports match.

Let's get some pizza at half-time.

Sometimes Half or approximately half the number of hours usually worked in a specified period.

I'm following a half-time schedule this month.

Entertainment, Lifestyle, Music A tempo in which the rhythm is emphasized so that it seems to have half as many metric divisions (e.g. emphasizing the start of every other bar rather than every bar).

Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Physics The time taken for a physical quantity to halve the difference between its present value and its final value.

Derived terms: half-timer
Coordinate terms: double time, full time, part time, quarter time, triple time

half-time

adj

Etymology From half- + time.

Pertaining to or characterized by half the usual duration.

The remedy proposed is half-time schools. The teachers are to be engaged for a school year's service, but the pupils belonging to each school are to be divided into two sections. Each section is to spend half the time in school and the remainder at home.1884, The Ohio Educational Monthly, page 544:
The remaining federal and State programs provide aid to part-time students only if attendance is half-time or more (at least six credit-hours).1979, United States. Congress. House. Committee on Education and Labor. Subcommittee on Postsecondary Education, Reauthorization of the Higher Education Act and Related Measures: Hearings Before the Subcommittee on Postsecondary Education of the Committee on Education and Labor, House of Representatives, Ninety-sixth Congress, First Session ...., page 162:

half-time

adv

Etymology From half- + time.

In a half time manner.

I'm working half-time this month (two and a half days per week) before my maternity leave.

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.