half-million
UK[ˌhɑːf ˈmɪljən]US[ˌhæf ˈmɪljən]
n
the number 500,000
adj
amounting to five hundred thousand
Morpheme Breakdown
half
million
half
one of two equal parts
million
the number 1,000,000
Etymology
the compound 'half-million' is a modern english formation that logically combines two distinct numerical concepts. the first element, 'half', derives from the old english 'healf', related to the proto-germanic 'halbaz', which carried the sense of a division into two parts. the second element, 'million', entered english via old french from the italian 'milione', a augmentative of the latin 'mille' (thousand), literally meaning 'a great thousand'. the compound's formation is transparently arithmetic, directly indicating one half of the unit of one million, a construction typical of english for specifying large fractional quantities.
Analysis
Structure: half (one of two equal parts) + million (the number 1,000,000)
'half' originates from old english 'healf', meaning 'side, part', and functions as a quantifier meaning one of two equal parts. 'million' comes from old italian 'milione', from latin 'mille' (thousand) with an augmentative suffix, and functions as the specific numerical unit.
Examples
the charity raised nearly a half-million dollars for the new hospital wing.
the city has a population of approximately half a million people.
the project required an initial investment of a half-million pounds.