half-century

English

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Noun

half-century (plural half-centuries)

1. A period of fifty years, half of a century.
   • 1962 March, J. M. Tolson, “The Netherlands Railways today—I: The economic development of the Netherlands Railways”, in Modern Railways, page 170:

     The Dutch population has grown rapidly in the last half-century and its increase has been matched by an expansion of industry, with the result that the same period has seen the Netherlands develop from a mainly agricultural to an industrial country.

2. (cricket) A score of 50 runs by a single batsman in one innings
   • 2009 January 30, AAP, “Vics make great start despite Rogers loss”, in Herald Sun‎^[1]:

     He brought up his half-century with a powerful drive past offspinner Dan Cullen, whose seven overs cost 0-52.

3. (sports) A score of 50 points in a single game.
   • 2023 May 1, Steve Sutcliffe, “World Snooker Championship 2023 final: Luca Brecel beats Mark Selby for first world title”, in BBC Sport:

     Selby's charge continued with a half-century in the 30th frame and a fluked red set him on the way to winning the 31st frame.

Synonyms

• (period of 50 years): semicentury, semicentennial

Related terms

• quarter-century

Translations

period of fifty years

• Esperanto: duoncentjaro
• Estonian: poolsajand (et)
• French: demi-siècle (fr) m
• Irish: leathchéad m
• Japanese: 半世紀 (ja) (hanseiki)
• Norman: d'mié-chent'naithe m
• Polish: półwiecze n
• Swedish: halvsekel (sv) n
• Ukrainian: півстолі́ття n (pivstolíttja)