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)

  • Audio (California):

    (file)

Prefix

semi-

2. half
4. partial, incomplete
6. 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-)
• Latin: semi-
• Malay: semi-
• Norwegian: halv-
• 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)

Further reading

• “semi-”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• “semi-”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• John A. Simpson and Edmund S. C. Weiner, editors (1989), “semi-”, in The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press, →ISBN.

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-

1. semi-

Derived terms

Catalan terms prefixed with semi-

Further reading

• “semi-” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “semi-”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2024
• “semi-” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “semi-” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Czech

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [sɛmɪ ]

Prefix

semi-

1. semi-

   ‎semi- + ‎finále → ‎semifinále

Derived terms

Czech terms prefixed with semi-

Further reading

• “semi-”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
• “semi-”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989
• semi- in Slovník afixů užívaných v češtině, 2017

Finnish

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin semi-.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsemi-/, [ˈs̠e̞mi-]

Prefix

semi-

1. half-, semi-, demi-

   Synonym: puoli-

Derived terms

Finnish terms prefixed with semi-

See also

• semi

Further reading

• “semi-”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja‎^[1] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2023-07-03

French

Etymology

From Latin sēmi-.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sə.mi/

• Audio (Canada):

  (file)

Prefix

semi-

1. 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-

1. 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): /seː.mi/, [s̠eːmɪ]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /se.mi/, [semi]

Prefix

sēmi-

1. half

Derived terms

Latin terms prefixed with semi-

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

Portuguese

Etymology

From Latin sēmi-.

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /se.mi/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /sɨ.mi/

• Hyphenation: se‧mi

Prefix

semi-

1. semi- (half)
2. semi- (partially)

Derived terms

Portuguese terms prefixed with semi-

Spanish

Etymology

From Latin sēmi-.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /semi/ [se.mi]
• Syllabification: se‧mi-

Prefix

semi-

1. semi- (half)
2. semi- (partially)

Derived terms

Spanish terms prefixed with semi-

Further reading

• “semi-”, in Diccionario de la lengua española (in Spanish), online version 23.7, Royal Spanish Academy, 2023 November 28