half-moon

¹

[ haf-moon, hahf- ]

noun

1. the moon when, at either quadrature, half its disk is illuminated.
2. the phase of the moon at this time.
3. something having the shape of a half-moon or crescent.

Half Moon

²

noun

1. the ship in which Henry Hudson made his voyage to explore America in 1609.

half-moon

noun

1. the moon at first or last quarter when half its face is illuminated
2. the time at which a half-moon occurs
3. 1. something shaped like a half-moon
   2. ( as modifier )

      half-moon spectacles

4. anatomy a nontechnical name for lunula

Word History and Origins

Origin of half-moon¹

late Middle English word dating back to 1375–1425

Example Sentences

The Moon will be in a waxing gibbous phase – going from half moon to full moon.

From BBC

Bonta noted that high-capacity magazines have been used in many of the country’s deadliest mass shootings, including high-profile ones in California’s Monterey Park and Half Moon Bay in January 2022.

From Slate

A gorgeous burl wood half moon bar, commissioned for but never delivered to the Titanic, conceals the entrance to a room containing Ellison’s archives, organized on accordion library shelves.

From Los Angeles Times

In California, only about 3,000 otters live along a 300-mile expanse from Half Moon Bay to Point Conception.

From Los Angeles Times

Two mushroom farms in Half Moon Bay, where seven people were killed in a mass shooting, owed hundreds of thousands of dollars in back wages to workers, and charged many of them to illegally live in trailers and cargo containers that were infested with trash, mold and insects, the U.S.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• arc
• arch
• contour
• loop
• trajectory