HALF - The Law Mind Legal Dictionary

HALFAuthored

The Law Mind • 1059 words

Definition

In law, "half" carries its ordinary arithmetic meaning — one of two equal parts of a divisible whole — but appears in a range of legal contexts where precision about what constitutes the whole, and how division is measured, carries substantive legal consequences.

As a share or portion. Half denotes an equal undivided interest in property, an estate, or a fund. Where two parties hold equal rights to a thing, each holds a half interest. In inheritance and family law, the term commonly arises in describing interests of half-blood relatives or partial shares in an estate.

As a moiety. In older legal usage, "half" and "moiety" are functional synonyms. A moiety is one of two equal parts of anything susceptible of division. The two terms appear interchangeably in older deeds, statutes, and reports; moiety is the more formal term of art, but half is the plain equivalent.

In tax law. A specific statutory use arises in self-employment tax: a taxpayer may deduct one-half of self-employment tax paid when calculating adjusted gross income. Here "half" means the precise arithmetical half of the computed tax liability, not an approximation.

Common Language

Modern common usage (Wiktionary): One of two usually roughly equal parts into which anything may be divided or considered as divided.

Historical common usage (Webster's 1913): Consisting of a moiety, or half. Also used loosely to mean approximately a half, whether more or less; partial; imperfect.

Editorial note: The legal gap is narrow but real. Ordinary speech tolerates "half" as an approximation — roughly equal, more or less. Legal instruments do not. In a deed, will, or statute, "half" means exactly one of two equal parts. The Webster's 1913 allowance for "partial" or "imperfect" halves has no place in legal drafting or legal interpretation. Where a document says half, courts read it as a precise mathematical share.

Common Confusion

Half is frequently encountered alongside moiety, and researchers sometimes treat the two as entirely different concepts. They are not. Moiety is the formal Latin-rooted term of art; half is the plain English equivalent. Both mean one of two equal parts. The confusion runs the other direction as well: some older sources use moiety loosely to mean any portion or share, not necessarily one-half. When reading historical sources, verify that "moiety" in context actually means one-half before treating it as synonymous with "half." Anderson's Dictionary of Law cross-references HALF directly to MOIETY, confirming the equivalence in formal legal usage.

Why It Matters in Research

Half is a threshold term rather than a standalone concept — it appears embedded within other legal doctrines and rarely has a self-contained entry in older dictionaries. Anderson's entry for HALF consists entirely of cross-references (BLOOD, COIN, DEFENSE, MOIETY, ORPHAN, SISTER), signaling that the legal significance of "half" depends entirely on what it modifies. A researcher encountering "half" in a historical document should immediately ask: half of what? That answer locates the relevant doctrine.

In property and inheritance research, the critical compound is half-blood. Relatives of the half-blood — sharing one common ancestor rather than two — have historically been treated differently from whole-blood relatives in intestacy. Jurisdictions diverged sharply on whether half-blood heirs inherited equally, inherited at a reduced share, or were excluded entirely. A document referring to a "half-sister" or "half-brother" in an estate context triggers that entire body of law.

In older mining, real property, and partnership cases, half interests appear constantly. Black's 2nd Edition illustrates the point by citing cases involving a half share of mining property. When researching these disputes, the precise definition of the whole — the denominator — is as important as the half itself. What constitutes the property being divided, and as of what date, determines everything.

For tax researchers, the self-employment tax deduction for one-half of SE tax paid is a specific and bounded rule. The Law Mind Tax Encyclopedia entry on this deduction is the appropriate starting point for that research thread.

Trap for historical sources: Black's 2nd Edition entry for HALF appears to be partially corrupted or cross-pollinated — the text begins with a description of heresy statutes and burning penalties before arriving at the moiety definition. This is an artifact of alphabetical proximity to other entries in that edition. Researchers consulting that source directly should read past the opening lines to reach the operative definition.

Historical Dictionary Support

Both source dictionaries treat HALF as a term requiring external context to become legally meaningful. Anderson's handles this by routing the researcher to related compound terms rather than defining half in isolation — a sound approach given that "half" standing alone creates no legal right or obligation.

Black's 2nd Edition arrives at a clean definition — "a moiety; one of two equal parts of anything susceptible of division" — and supports it with case citations involving property division. The core point is straightforward and the two dictionaries agree: half means an equal share of a divisible whole.

Neither source addresses the tax law use of "half," which is expected given their vintage. The self-employment tax deduction is a modern statutory construct with no historical dictionary analogue.

Jurisdictional Note

Half-blood inheritance rules vary by jurisdiction and have changed over time. At common law, half-blood relatives were disadvantaged or excluded in certain lines of descent. Most American jurisdictions have by statute equalized half-blood and whole-blood heirs in intestacy, but the timing and extent of those changes differ. Researchers examining estate documents from before the mid-twentieth century should verify the applicable jurisdiction's half-blood rule at the time of death.

Encyclopedia Cross-Reference

Deductions — Self-Employment Tax Deductible Half (The Law Mind Tax Encyclopedia)

HALFcrossref

Anderson's Dictionary of Law • 1890

See BLOOD; COIN; DEFENSE, 2; MOIETY; ORPHAN; SISTER.

HALFmain

Black's Law Dictionary (2nd Ed.) • 1910

heresy, and imposed the penalty of death by burning against all heretics who relapsed or who refused to abjure their opinions. It was repealed by the statute 29 Car. II. c. 9. Brown. This was also the name of a writ for the purpose indicated. A molety; one of two equal parts of anything susceptible of division. Prentiss v. Brewer, 17 Wis. 644, 86 Am. Dec. 730; Hartford Iron Min. Co. v. Cambridge Min. Co., 80 Mich. 491, 45 N. W. 351; Cogan v. Cook, 22 Minn. 142; Dart v. Barbour, 32 Mich. 272. Used in law in various compound terms, in substantially the same sense, as follows: —Half blood. See BLOOD.—Half-brother, half-sister. Persons who have the same father, but different mothers; or the same mother, but different fathers. Wood v. Mitcham, 92 N. Y. 879; In re Weiss’ Estate, 1 Montg. Co. Law Rep’r (Pa.) 210.—Half-cent. A copper coin of the United States, of the value of five mills, and of the weight of ninety-four The coinage of these was discontinued in 1857.—Half defense. See DEFENSE.— Half-dime. A silver (now nickel) coin of the United States, of the value of five cents. Half-dollar. A silver coin of the United States, of the value of fifty cents, or one-half the value of a dollar.—Half-eagle. A _ gold coin of the United States, of the value of five —e—V—_— ae HALF 559 dollars.—Half-endeal. <A moiety, or half of a thing.—Half-kineg. In Saxon law. Halfking, (semé-rex.) A title given to the aldermen of all England. Crabb, . Law, 28; Spelman. emark. <A noble, or six shillin and eight pence in English money.—Half pilotage. mpensation for services which a puct has put himself in readiness to perform, y labor, risk, and cost, and has offered to perform, at half the rate he would have received if the services had actually been performed. Gloucester verte. Co. v. Pennsylvania, 114 U. 8. 196, 5 Sup. Ct. 826, 29 L. Ed. 158.—Halfproof. In the civil law. Proof by one witness, or a private instrument. Hallifax, Civil Law, b. 8, c. 9, no. 25; 3 Bl. Comm. 370 Or prima facie proof, which yet was not sufficient to found a sentence or decree.—Half-seal. That which was formerly used in the English chancery for sealing of commissions to delegates, upon any appeal to the court of delegates, either in ecclesiastical or marine causes.—Half section. In American land law. The half of a section of land according to the divisions of the government survey, laid off either by a north-and-south or by an _ east-and-west line, and containing 320 acres. See Brown v. Har din, 21 Ark. 324.—Half-timer. A child who, by the operation of the English factory and education acts, is employed for less than the full time in a factory or workshop, in order that he may attend some “recognized efficient school.” See factory and workshop act. 1878, § 23: elementary education act. 76, § 11.—Halftongue. A jury half of one tongue or nationality and half of another. See DE MEDIETATE LINGU2A.—Half-year. In legal computation. The period of one hundred and eighty-two days; the odd hours being rejected. Co. Litt. 1350; Cro. Jac. 166; Yel. 100: 1 Steph. Comm. 265; Pol. Code Cal. 1903, § 3257.

HALFa.

Websters Unabridged Dictionary (1913) • 1913

Consisting of a moiety, or half; as, a half bushel; a half hour; a half dollar; a half view. Consisting of some indefinite portion resembling a half; approximately a half, whether more or less; partial; imperfect; as, a half dream; half knowledge. Assumed from thence a half consent. Tennyson. Half ape (Zoöl.), a lemur.  -- Half back. (Football) See under 2d Back.  -- Half bent, the first notch, for the sear point to enter, in the tumbler of a gunlock; the halfcock notch.  -- Half binding, a style of bookbinding in which only the back and corners are in leather.  -- Half boarder, one who boards in part; specifically, a scholar at a boarding school who takes dinner only.  -- Half-breadth plan (Shipbuilding), a horizontal plan of the half a vessel, divided lengthwise, showing the lines.  -- Half cadence (Mus.), a cadence on the dominant.  -- Half cap, a slight salute with the cap. [Obs.] Shak.  -- A half cock, the position of the cock of a gun when retained by the first notch.  -- Half hitch, a sailor's knot in a rope; half of a clove hitch.  -- Half hose, short stockings; socks.  -- Half measure, an imperfect or weak line of action.  -- Half note (Mus.), a minim, one half of a semibreve.  -- Half pay, half of the wages or salary; reduced pay; as, an officer on half pay.  -- Half price, half the ordinary price; or a price much reduced.  -- Half round. (a) (Arch.) A molding of semicircular section. (b) (Mech.) Having one side flat and the other rounded; -- said of a file.  -- Half shift (Mus.), a position of the hand, between the open position and the first shift, in playing on the violin and kindred instruments. See Shift.  -- Half step (Mus.), a semitone; the smallest difference of pitch or interval, used in music.  -- Half tide, the time or state of the tide equally distant from ebb and flood.  -- Half time, half the ordinary time for work or attendance; as, the half-time system.  -- Half tint (Fine Arts), a middle or intermediate tint, as in drawing or painting. See Demitint.  -- Half truth, a statement only partially true, or which gives only a part of the truth. Mrs. Browning.  -- Half year, the space of six moths; one term of a school when there are two terms in a year.

HALFadv.

Websters Unabridged Dictionary (1913) • 1913

In an equal part or degree; in some paas, half-colored, half done, half-hearted, half persuaded, half conscious. "Half loth and half consenting." Dryden. Their children spoke halfin the speech of Ashdod. Neh. xiii. 24

HALFn.

Websters Unabridged Dictionary (1913) • 1913

Part; side; behalf. [Obs.] Wyclif. The four halves of the house. Chaucer. One of two equal parts into which anything may be divided, or considered as divided; -- sometimes followed by of; as, a half of an apple. Not half his riches known, and yet despised. Milton. A friendship so complete Portioned in halves between us. Tennyson. Better half. See under Better.  -- In half, in two; an expression sometimes used improperly instead of in or into halves; as, to cut in half. [Colloq.] Dickens.  -- In, or On, one's half, in one's behalf; on one's part. [Obs.] -- To cry halves, to claim an equal share with another.  -- To go halves, to share equally between two.

halfnoun

Wiktionary (English) • 2026

Wiktionary contributors • CC BY-SA 4.0 • via Kaikki
Extracted and formatted for display by Law Mind. Source link opens the current Wiktionary page and its contributor history; it is not a frozen copy of this extract.

One of two usually roughly equal parts into which anything may be divided, or considered as divided. | One of two usually roughly equal parts into which anything may be divided, or considered as divided. | One of two equal periods into which a game is divided. | One of two usually roughly equal parts into which anything may be divided, or considered as divided. | One of the two opposite parts of the playing field of various sports, in which each starts the game. | Half of a standard measure, chiefly: | half a pint of beer or cider. (Refusing a pint) Just a half, thank you. (Offering to top up a pint glass) Do you want a half in that? (Minimizing the amount of drink taken) A swift half at the Pear Tree. | Half of a standard measure, chiefly: | A barrel measure of 27 gallons (half a hogshead). | The fraction obtained by dividing 1 by 2. | Any of the three terms at Eton College, for Michaelmas, Lent, and summer. | A half sibling. | A child ticket. Two and a half to Paddington. | abbreviated form for half marathon. | Clipping of half-dollar.

halfadj

Wiktionary (English) • 2026

Consisting of a half (½, 50%). | Consisting of some indefinite portion resembling a half; approximately a half, whether more or less; partial; imperfect. | Having one parent (rather than two) in common. | Related through one common grandparent or ancestor rather than two.

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