Behalf
nounThe interest, support, or representation of someone, as in acting for them or in their place.
How to spell behalf
6 letters · 2 syllables
How to pronounce behalf
Say the part in capitals loudest.
What does behalf mean?
- nounThe interest, support, or representation of someone, as in acting for them or in their place.
Behalf in a sentence
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The lawyer signed the documents on behalf of her client.
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He accepted the award on behalf of the entire research team.
Where does behalf come from?
Language of origin: Germanic
Behalf grew out of two Middle English phrases that meant much the same thing: 'bi halve', meaning 'by the side of', and 'on his halve', meaning 'on his side'. These two expressions blended together around the fourteenth century into a single word, and the modern spelling preserves that fusion. The 'half' element here is the Old English word 'healf', which originally meant 'side' or 'part' rather than the fraction we usually think of today. So to act on someone's behalf is literally to act from their side or in their part. The fraction sense and the 'side' sense were once the same word, which is why behalf still looks like it contains the familiar word 'half' even though no halving is involved.
How the word is built
- be- (by, from Old English bi)
- half (side, from Old English healf)
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