semi-

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a combining form borrowed from Latin, meaning “half,” freely prefixed to English words of any origin, now sometimes with the senses “partially,” “incompletely,” “somewhat”: semiautomatic; semidetached; semimonthly; semisophisticated.

Origin of semi-

Middle English < Latin sēmi-; cognate with Old English sōm-, sām- half (modern dial. sam-), Old High German sāmi-, Sanskrit sāmi-, Greek hēmi-; cf. sesqui-

Usage note

See bi-¹.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for semi-

apparent, apparently, fake, mock, near, nominal, partly, pretended, seeming, sham, so-called, supposedly, synthetic, virtual, would-be, seemingly, pseudo-, semi-

British Dictionary definitions for semi-

semi-

prefix

halfsemicircle Compare demi- (def. 1), hemi-

partially, partly, not completely, or almostsemiprofessional; semifinal

occurring twice in a specified period of timesemiannual; semiweekly

Word Origin for semi-

from Latin; compare Old English sōm-, sām- half, Greek hēmi-

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for semi-

before vowels sem-, word-forming element meaning "half, part, partly; partial, imperfect; twice," from Latin semi- "half," from PIE *semi- "half" (cf. Sanskrit sami "half," Greek hemi- "half," Old English sam-, Gothic sami- "half").

Old English cognate sam- was used in such compounds as samhal "poor health," literally "half-whole;" samsoden "half-cooked," figuratively "stupid" (cf. half-baked); samcucu "half-dead," literally "half-alive;" and the last survivor of the group, sandblind "dim-sighted" (q.v.). Common in Latin (e.g. semi-gravis "half-drunk," semi-hora "half hour," semi-mortuus "half-dead," semi-nudus "half-naked," semi-vir "half-man, hermaphrodite"). The Latin-derived form in English has been active in forming native words since 15c.

semi- in Medicine

semi-

pref.

Half:semicanal.

Partial; partially:semiconscious.

Resembling or having some of the characteristics of:semilunar.

semi- in Science

semi-

A prefix that means half, (as in semicircle, half a circle) or partly, somewhat, less than fully, (as in semiconscious, partly conscious).