Noah Webster
Half
H'ALF, noun h'af. plural halves, pronoun h'avz.
One equal part of a thing which is divided into two parts, either in fact or in contemplation; a moiety; as half a pound; half a tract of land; half an orange; half the miseries or pleasures of life. It is applied to quantity, number, length, and every thing susceptible of division. In practice, of is often or usually omitted after half We say, half a pound; half a mile; half the number.
Half the misery of life.
H'ALF, verb transitive To divide into halves. [See Halve.]
H'ALF, adverb In part, or in an equal part of degree.
Half loth, and half consenting.
In composition, half denotes an equal part; or indefinitely, a part, and hence, imperfect.