hemisphere
/ˈhemɪsˌfɪə/HEH-mis-fir
/ˈhɛmɪsˌfɪɹ/HEH-mis-fir
Meaninga half ball
Common meaning: one half of a ball or globe, esp. the earth
- hemihalfLiddell & Scott, Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon (1889), p. 352 · scan
- spherround body, ballLiddell & Scott, Greek-English Lexicon (1883), p. 1510 (approximate) · scan
‘half’ + ‘round body, ball’ → hemisphere
Journey through time
Only the hemi half is traced; the path of spher is not in our sources yet.
- hemi — Greek ἡμι- “half” (path traced)
- spher — Greek σφαῖρα “round body, ball” (dictionary form; path not traced)
Parts join in Old French as hemisphere.
- Greekἡμι-‘half’
- Old Frenchhemispheresource
- Englishhemisphere‘one half of a ball or globe, esp. the earth’ · today
Sources & notes
Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
- No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
- US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
- No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.
Origin: Built on Greek ἡμι- ‘half’ + Greek σφαῖρα ‘round body, ball’.
Did you know: our wording, based on Liddell & Scott, Greek-English Lexicon (1883), entry σφαῖρα, p. 1510 · dictionary scan
Roots
Related words
Building blocks are an automatic split · open in app