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Halt vs Shut - What's the difference?

halt | shut |

In intransitive terms the difference between halt and shut

is that halt is to stop either temporarily or permanently while shut is to close, to stop being open.

In transitive terms the difference between halt and shut

is that halt is to cause to discontinue while shut is to close, to stop from being open.

halt

English

(wikipedia halt)

Etymology 1

From (etyl) (m), from (etyl) . English usage in the sense of 'make a halt' is from the noun. Cognate with North Frisian (m), Swedish (m).

Verb

(en verb)
  • (label) To limp; move with a limping gait.
  • (label) To stand in doubt whether to proceed, or what to do; hesitate; be uncertain; linger; delay; mammer.
  • * Bible, 1 Kings xviii. 21
  • How long halt ye between two opinions?
  • (label) To be lame, faulty, or defective, as in connection with ideas, or in measure, or in versification.
  • Etymology 2

    From (etyl) (m), from (etyl) . More at (l).

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • (lb) To stop marching.
  • (lb) To stop either temporarily or permanently.
  • *
  • *:And it was while all were passionately intent upon the pleasing and snake-like progress of their uncle that a young girl in furs, ascending the stairs two at a time, peeped perfunctorily into the nursery as she passed the hallway—and halted amazed.
  • (lb) To bring to a stop.
  • (lb) To cause to discontinue.
  • :
  • Noun

    (en noun)
  • A cessation, either temporary or permanent.
  • * Clarendon
  • Without any halt they marched.
  • A minor railway station (usually unstaffed) in the United Kingdom.
  • Etymology 3

    (etyl) healt (verb (healtian)), from (etyl) . Cognate with Danish halt, Swedish halt.

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • (archaic) Lame, limping.
  • * 1526 , William Tyndale, trans. Bible , Mark IX:
  • It is better for the to goo halt into lyfe, then with ij. fete to be cast into hell [...].
  • * Bible, Luke xiv. 21
  • Bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt , and the blind.

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To limp.
  • * 1610 , , act 4 scene 1
  • Do not smile at me that I boast her off,
    For thou shalt find she will outstrip all praise,
    And make it halt behind her.
  • To waver.
  • To falter.
  • Noun

    (en noun)
  • (dated) Lameness; a limp.
  • Anagrams

    * English ergative verbs ----

    shut

    English

    Etymology 1

    From (etyl) shutten, shetten, from (etyl) .

    Verb

  • To close, to stop from being open.
  • Please shut the door.
    The light was so bright I had to shut my eyes.
  • To close, to stop being open.
  • If you wait too long, the automatic door will shut .
  • (transitive, or, intransitive, chiefly, British) To close a business temporarily, or (of a business) to be closed.
  • The pharmacy is shut on Sunday.
  • To preclude; to exclude; to bar out.
  • * Dryden
  • shut from every shore
    Usage notes
    Except when part of one of the derived terms listed below, almost every use of shut'' can be replaced by ''close''. The reverse is not true -- there are many uses of ''close'' that cannot be replaced by ''shut .
    Derived terms
    (phrasal verbs derived from shut) * shut away * shut down * shut in * shut off * shut out * shut up (single words and compounds derived from shut) * shutdown, shut-down * shut-eye * shut-in * shutout, shut-out * shutter (idioms derived from shut) * open and shut * shut one's eyes to * shut the door on * shut up shop * shut your face * shut your mouth * shut your trap

    Adjective

    (-)
  • closed
  • Noun

    (en noun)
  • The act or time of shutting; close.
  • the shut of a door
  • * Milton
  • Just then returned at shut of evening flowers.
  • A door or cover; a shutter.
  • (Sir Isaac Newton)
  • The line or place where two pieces of metal are welded together.
  • Etymology 2

    Variation of (chute) or (shute) (archaic, related to (shoot)) from (etyl) .

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A narrow alley]] or [[passageway, passage acting as a short cut through the buildings between two streets.
  • Synonyms
    * (alleyway) alley, gennel (Northern Ireland), ginnel (Yorkshire and Lancashire), gitty (East Midlands), jitty (Midlands), passage, snicket (Northern England), wynd (Scotland)