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Webster 1913 Edition


Halse

Halse

(ha̤ls)
,
Verb.
T.
[AS.
healsian
.]
1.
To embrace about the neck; to salute; to greet.
[Obs.]
Each other kissed glad
And lovely
halst
.
Spenser.
2.
To adjure; to beseech; to entreat.
[Obs.]
O dere child, I
halse
thee,
In virtue of the Holy Trinity.
Chaucer.

Halse

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Halsed
(ha̤lst)
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Halsing
.]
[Cf.
Hawser
.]
To haul; to hoist.
[Obs.]
Grafton

Webster 1828 Edition


Halse

HALSE

,
Noun.
The neck or throat.

HALSE

,
Verb.
I.
hals. To embrace about the neck; to adjure; to greet.

Definition 2024


halse

halse

See also: Hälse

English

Alternative forms

Noun

halse (plural halses)

  1. (anatomy, archaic) The neck; the throat.
    Well, as you know they used to hang folk by the halse for horse theft.
Derived terms

Etymology 2

From Middle English halsen, halchen, from Old English *halsian, *healsian (to embrace, literally to fall upon the neck of), from heals (neck). See above. Cognate with Old Saxon helsjen (to embrace), Old High German halsōn (German halsen (to jibe)), Icelandic hálsa (to embrace).

Alternative forms

Verb

halse (third-person singular simple present halses, present participle halsing, simple past and past participle halsed)

  1. (obsolete) To fall upon the neck of; embrace.
    • 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, chapter xxj, in Le Morte Darthur, book VIII:
      soo the Kyng took a lytel hackney and but fewe felauship with him vntyl he came vnto sir Tristrams pauelione / and whanne syre Trystram sawe the Kynge / he ranne vnto hym and wold haue holden his styrope / But the kynge lepte from his hors lyghtly / and eyther halsed other in armes

Etymology 3

From Middle English halsen, halsien (to beseech, adjure), from Old English healsian, hālsian (to entreat earnestly, beseech, implore), from Proto-Germanic *hailisōną (to greet), from Proto-Indo-European *kailo-, *kailu- (whole, safe). Cognate with Middle High German heilsen (to predict), Swedish hälsa (to greet), Icelandic heilsa (to salute). More at whole, hailse.

Verb

halse (third-person singular simple present halses, present participle halsing, simple past and past participle halsed)

  1. (transitive) To greet; salute; hail.
  2. (transitive) To beseech; adjure.
Related terms

Etymology 4

From Middle English hals (neck), from Old Norse háls (neck, part of the forecastle or bow of a ship), from Proto-Germanic *halsaz (neck). See Etymology 1. Cognate with Danish hals (neck, tack).

Alternative forms

Noun

halse (plural halses)

  1. Alternative form of hawse

Verb

halse (third-person singular simple present halses, present participle halsing, simple past and past participle halsed)

  1. (obsolete) To haul; to hoist.

Anagrams


Danish

Noun

halse c

  1. plural indefinite of hals

Verb

halse (imperative hals, infinitive at halse, present tense halser, past tense halsede, perfect tense har halset)

  1. bark
    Hunden halser: The dog is barking
  2. rush
    halse efter: rush after

Synonyms