half pay

noun

half one's regular pay.
a reduced amount paid to a British army or navy officer when not in actual service or after retirement.

Origin of half pay

First recorded in 1655–65

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for half pay

Historical Examples of half pay

Her establishment was not only diminished, but her servants reduced to half-pay.
Handel
Edward J. Dent
She had just his half-pay to live on—it amounted to about a pound a week.
Tales Of Hearsay
Joseph Conrad
I was a major after Waterloo; the Bourbons put me aside on half-pay.
The Man With The Broken Ear
Edmond About
You are a half-pay officer, and are at leisure to command the garrison: but where is the castle?
Crotchet Castle
Thomas Love Peacock
The object was the contemptible one of robbing him of his half-pay.
The Rise of Canada, from Barbarism to Wealth and Civilisation
Charles Roger