Halt
/hɔːlt/noun
To stop or bring to a stop; also used as a command to stop moving.
Did you know?The word ultimately traces back to a Germanic root meaning “to limp,” so the modern command to freeze motion has ancient echoes of uneven, weakened movement.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*halþaz / *haltaz
“lame, limping, crippled”
Old English
OE
healt
“lame, limping”
Old High German
OHG
halz
“lame”
Middle English
ME
halten
“to limp; later, to stop or hold back”
Modern English
English
halt
“to stop; a stop or pause”