Halter Meaning
/ˈhɔltɚ/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA bitless headpiece of rope or straps, placed on the head of animals such as cattle or horses to lead or tie them.
nounA rope with a noose, for hanging criminals; the gallows rope.
Sentence Examples
Mary was wearing a halter top.
Tom pulled on the halter in order to guide the horse to the stables.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The horse was led by a rope attached to its ____.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The farmer used a leather ____ to lead the gentle horse out of the stable and into the green pasture for the day.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English halter, helter, helfter, from Old English hælfter, hælftre (“halter”), from Proto-West Germanic *halftrijā (“harness”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kelH- (“to cut”), equivalent to half- + -ter. Cognate with Scots helter (“halter”), Dutch halfter, halster (“halter”), Low German halfter, helchter, halter (“halter”), German Halfter (“halter, holster”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"And Crates said, that love was cured with hunger, if not by time; and in him that liked not these two meanes, by the halter [translating hart]."
— 1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 12, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book II, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC:
"“[…]No rogue e’er felt the halter draw, with a good opinion of the law, and perhaps my own detestation of the law arises from my having frequently broken it.[…].”"
— 1913, Robert Barr, chapter 4, in Lord Stranleigh Abroad:
"The two Indians were finished with their own saddling, the camp gear was packed, and already the extra saddle horses and their one packhorse' were haltered so they could be led back to the ranch."
— 1981, James Powell, chapter 8, in The Malpais Rider (A Double D Western), Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday & Company, →ISBN, page 62:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The horse was led by a rope attached to its ____.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The farmer used a leather ____ to lead the gentle horse out of the stable and into the green pasture for the day.