semi-

See also: Semi, semi, ṣemi, şemî, -semi, and семи

English

Alternative forms

sem-

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin semi- (“half”), from Proto-Indo-European *sēmi/*sēmi-. Cognate to English sam, and to hemi- (via Ancient Greek).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /sɛmi/, /sɛmaɪ/
- Audio (UK): (file)
- Audio (US): (file)

Prefix

semi-

half
semi-invalid.
partial, incomplete
somewhat, rather, quasi-
- 1994, Eric Bogosian, Pounding nails in the floor with my forehead:
  Nothing like a nice hot ethnic dish before you go to see that semi-expensive, semi-meaningful Off-Broadway show.

Usage notes

In British English, the semi- forms are usually hyphenated as evidenced by OED's semi- entries predominantly using hyphen.

Synonyms

(half): half-, hemi-, demi-
(partial): demi-
(somewhat): quasi-, -ish

Derived terms

English terms prefixed with semi-

semiflat

Translations

half (prefix)

Arabic: شِبْه (ar) (šibh) (not an attached prefix)
Catalan: semi- (ca)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 半- (zh) (bàn-)
Czech: semi- (cs)
Finnish: puoli-, semi- (fi)
French: semi- (fr), demi- (fr), à moitié
Galician: semi- (gl)
Georgian: ნახევრად- (naxevrad-), ნახევარ- (naxevar-)
German: halb (de) (compounding), semi- (de)
Greek: ημι- (el) (imi-)
Hebrew: חצי־ (khatsí-), סמי־ (sémi-)
Hungarian: szemi-, fél-, félig-
Ido: mi-
Irish: leath-
Italian: semi- (it), mezzo-
Japanese: 半- (ja) (はん-, han-)
Korean: 반- (ban-)
Latin: semi-
Malay: semi-
Norwegian: halv-
Persian: نیم (fa) (nim-)
Polish: pół- (pl)
Portuguese: semi- (pt)
Punjabi: ਅਧ- (adha-)
Romanian: semi- (ro), demi-, emi-, hemi-
Russian: полу- (ru) (polu-), семи- (semi-)
Spanish: semi- (es), hemi- (es)
Swedish: halv-
Turkish: yarı (tr)

Anagrams

EMIs, ESMI, IMEs, MSIE, Meis, Sime, eSIM, mise

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin sēmi-.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [ˌsɛ.mi]
IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ˌse.mi]

Prefix

semi-

semi-

Derived terms

Catalan terms prefixed with semi-

Czech

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [sɛmɪ ]

Prefix

semi-

semi-
‎semi- + ‎finále → ‎semifinále

Derived terms

Czech terms prefixed with semi-

semifinále

semilogaritmický

Finnish

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin semi-.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈsemi-/, [ˈs̠e̞mi-]

Prefix

semi-

half-, semi-, demi-
Synonym: puoli-

Derived terms

Finnish terms prefixed with semi-

semimaligni

seminormi

French

Etymology

From Latin sēmi-.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /sə.mi/
Audio (Canada): (file)

Prefix

semi-

semi-, demi-, half-

Derived terms

French terms prefixed with semi-

Italian

Etymology

From Latin sēmi-, from Proto-Indo-European *sēmi (“half”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /se.mi/
Hyphenation: se‧mi-

Prefix

semi-

semi-, demi-, half-

Derived terms

Italian terms prefixed with semi-

Anagrams

mesi, mise

Latin

Alternative forms

sē- (in sēlībra, sēmodius)
sēm- (before vowels, e.g. sēmis)
sin- (in sinciput)

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-European *sēmi-. Cognate with Sanskrit सामि (sāmí), Ancient Greek ἡμι- (hēmi-), Old High German sami-.

Pronunciation

(Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈseː.mi/, [ˈs̠eːmɪ]
(modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈse.mi/, [ˈsɛːmi]

Prefix

sēmi-

half

Derived terms

Descendants

→ English: semi-, semi
→ French: semi-
→ Italian: semi-
→ Portuguese: semi-
→ Spanish: semi-

References

“semi-”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
“semi-”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers