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other half

other half

11 3.0
The person you love and share your life with
  • noun
translation icon : pareja
  • They are dating, they're trying to find their other half, their second human to spend life with.

You are like passing ships with your other half quite often.

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Examples

  • Much as I love him, my other half tends to do this as well.

    Blog text (13)
  • Because she is my other half, the sister of my heart.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • I know this because I do that look to my other half all the time!

    Blog text (33)
  • I also wouldn't have wanted to leave my other half alone without support.

    Blog text (10)
  • In finding your other half, the gifts of your life will multiply.

  • Sometimes it comes down to just letting your other half into the life that you're having without him.

    Blog text (28)
  • She says what do you do when your other half keeps judging and challenging your daily activities regarding money and finances?

  • She believes that her partner is her other half, completing her in every way.

  • After many years together, they feel like they truly are each other's other half.

  • Finding your other half can bring so much joy and fulfillment to your life.

Synonyms

partner
vsother half
878 1.1

A husband, wife, or long-term companion in a romantic relationship

is more likely to imply a close, complementary bond
significant other
vsother half
33 3.3

A person you have a long romantic relationship with and often live with

tends to imply a spousal or formally recognized commitment
better half
vsother half
  • Informal
14 3.3

A person someone is married to or lives with, said in a friendly, joking way

is a more neutral term implying close complementary partnership

Antonyms

96 1.8

A person who is not married or in a romantic relationship

Surface Forms

other half singular
other halves plural

Morphology

other + half

The phrase maps 'other' + 'half' onto the metaphor of two people forming a whole, so the literal parts give a clear clue that the referent is the complementary part of oneself (a partner). However, the romantic/significant-other sense is a conventionalized metaphorical extension rather than a strictly compositional meaning, so learners need some idiomatic/cultural mapping to arrive at the exact sense.

Etymology

The phrase other half comes from the simple image of two matching parts of one whole. If one part is a half, the 'other half' is the matching piece. That's why people use other half to mean 'spouse' or 'partner', someone who completes your life.