halse

H4A1L1S1E1
Northern England[hoːs]Northern England[haːs]Northern England[hoːz]

noun

The neck; the throat.

“Well, as you know they used to hang folk by the halse for horse theft.”

OriginMiddle English hals ← Old English heals ← Proto-West Germanic *hals →
UncommonScrabble 8
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Meanings

halse1

nounhalse (plural halses)

plural halses · alternative hawse

  1. archaicanatomyThe neck; the throat.

    Well, as you know they used to hang folk by the halse for horse theft.

halse2

verbhalse (third-person singular simple present halses, present participle halsing, simple past and past participle halsed)

present singular third person halses · participle present halsing · participle past halsed · past halsed · alternative haulse · alternative halsh · alternative hawse · alternative hose

  1. dialectalTo fall upon the neck of; hug; embrace.

    soo the Kyng took a lytel hackney and but fewe felauship with him vntyl he came vnto sir Tristrams pauelione / and whanne syre Trystram sawe the Kynge / he ranne vnto hym and wold haue holden his styrope / But the kynge lepte from his hors lyghtly / and eyther halsed other in armes

    1485, Sir Thomas Malory, “xxj”, in Le Morte Darthur, book VIII

halse3

verbhalse (third-person singular simple present halses, present participle halsing, simple past and past participle halsed)

present singular third person halses · participle present halsing · participle past halsed · past halsed

  1. transitiveTo greet; salute; hail.
  2. transitiveTo beseech; adjure.

halse4

nounhalse (plural halses)

plural halses · alternative hawse

  1. alternativeAlternative form of hawse.
verbhalse (third-person singular simple present halses, present participle halsing, simple past and past participle halsed)

present singular third person halses · participle present halsing · participle past halsed · past halsed · alternative hawse

  1. obsoleteTo haul; to hoist.

Halse5

proper noun
  1. A small village in Greatworth and Halse parish, West Northamptonshire district, Northamptonshire, previously in South Northamptonshire district (OS grid ref SP5640).
  2. A village and civil parish in Somerset, England, previously in Somerset West and Taunton district and Taunton Deane district before that (OS grid ref ST1428).
  3. A surname.

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
cwtchembrace

Origin

halse · noun

  1. Proto-Indo-European*kols-
  2. Proto-Germanic*halsaz“neck”
  3. Proto-West Germanic*hals
  4. Old Englishheals“neck, prow of a ship”
  5. Middle Englishhals
  6. Englishhalse

From Middle English hals, from Old English heals (“neck, prow of a ship”), from Proto-West Germanic *hals, from Proto-Germanic *halsaz (“neck”), from Proto-Indo-European *kols-, *ḱols- (“neck”). Cognate with Dutch hals (“neck, throat”), German Hals (“neck, throat”), Norwegian hals (“neck, throat”), Swedish hals (“neck, throat”), Latin collum (“neck”).

More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic

Full word history & related roots →

halse · verb

  1. Old English*halsian, *healsian“to embrace”
  2. Middle Englishhalsen
  3. Englishhalse

From Middle English halsen, halchen, from Old English *halsian, *healsian (“to embrace”, literally “to fall upon the neck of”), from heals (“neck”). See above. Cognate with Old Saxon helsjen (“to embrace”), Old High German halsōn (German halsen (“to jibe”)), Icelandic hálsa (“to embrace”).

More words from Middle English, Old English

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halse · verb

  1. Proto-Indo-European*kailo-
  2. Proto-Germanic*hailisōną“to greet”
  3. Old Englishhealsian
  4. Middle Englishhalsen
  5. Englishhalse

From Middle English halsen, halsien (“to beseech, adjure”), from Old English healsian, hālsian (“to entreat earnestly, beseech, implore”), from Proto-Germanic *hailisōną (“to greet”), from Proto-Indo-European *kailo-, *kailu- (“whole, safe”). Cognate with Middle High German heilsen (“to predict”), Swedish hälsa (“to greet”), Icelandic heilsa (“to salute”). More at whole.

More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-Germanic

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halse · noun, verb

  1. Proto-Germanic*halsaz“neck”
  2. Old Norseháls“neck, part of the forecastle or bow of a ship”
  3. Middle Englishhals“neck”
  4. Englishhalse

From Middle English hals (“neck”), from Old Norse háls (“neck, part of the forecastle or bow of a ship”), from Proto-Germanic *halsaz (“neck”). See Etymology 1. Cognate with Danish hals (“neck, tack”).

More words from Middle English, Old Norse, Proto-Germanic

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with halse

becauselosscrossbosssaucedosmossglossmorsejossflossVosshossdossfossedrossfawcepauceVästerås
All rhymes →

Anagrams

leashshalehalesSalehselahSahelsheal
Cite this entry
APA

halse. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/halse

MLA

“halse.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/halse. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “halse,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/halse.

Source: halse on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.