Halfe part. Dimidia pars. Plaut. The halfe part. Dimidius modius. Liu. Halfe a bushel. Dimidias clepsidras dixit Plinius in epistolis, pro Dimidiatis. teste Budæo. Dimidium facti qui cœpit habet. Hor. He that hath well begun hath halfe ended. Dimidio minoris constabit aliquid. Cice. It wil cost lesse by the halfe. Pecuniæ dimidium alicui curare. Cic. Ad dimidias decoquere, Vide in præpositione Ad. Soluere dimidium. Quint. Dimidium qum. Li. Vt vix dimidium militum, qum quod acceperat, successori tradiderit. That he did scantly deliuer halfe the souldiers that he receiued. Dimidio. Ablatiuus. By the halfe. vt, Dimidio carius. C. Dearer by the halfe. Dimidio minus, & Dimidio minoris. Plau. Lesse by the half or better cheape by the balfe. Minus dimidium, pro Dimidio minus. Cic. Dimidio plus scripsit Clodia. Cic. Dimidio ferè pluris qum superiore anno. Cic. Dimidio stultior. Cic. More foole by halfe.

Halfe that is vinided.

I. As an adj., until the Aug. per. only in connection with pars, e. g.: dimidiam partem nationum subegit, Plaut. Curc. 3, 77; id. Aul. 4, 10, 37; id. Rud. 4, 4, 79; Lucr. 1, 618 sq.; 5, 720; Cic. N. D. 2, 40, 103; id. Rosc. Com. 11, 32; id. Fam. 13, 29, 4; Caes. B. G. 6, 31, 5; id. B. C. 1, 27; 3, 101 (twice); Sall. J. 64, 5; Suet. Caes. 42; Front. Strat. 2, 3, 21; Ov. F. 5, 122; id. Tr. 1, 2, 44 et saep.—

II. Since the Aug. per., esp. in poets, also with other substantives, instead of dimidiatus (v. dimidio), divided into two equal parts, halved: mullus (opp. lupus totus), Mart. 2, 37, 4: crus, Juv. 13, 95: vultus, id. 15, 57: Memnone, id. 15, 5: forma circuli, Plin. 2, 59, 60, 150: clepsydrae, id. Ep. 6, 2, 5: labro basia dare, i. e. slightly, Mart. 2, 10 and 22; so of busts: Priapus, Mart. 11, 18; cf. Cicero's pun on the half-length likeness of his brother Quintus: frater meus dimidius major est quam totus, in Macr. S. 2, 3 (the word dimidius, for dimidiatus, belongs prob. to Macr. himself).—

III. Trop., so of persons of mixed descent: dimidius patrum, dimidius plebis, half patrician and half plebeian, Liv. 4, 2, 6. —Hence, subst.

A. dīmidium, ii, n., the half (very freq. in all periods and kinds of writing): horae, Lucil. ap. Gell. 3, 14, 11; so with gen., Plaut. Am. 5, 1, 73; id. Bacch. 5, 2, 67; 71 et saep.; absol., Plaut. Bacch. 2, 3, 87; id. Ps. 4, 7, 68; 5, 2, 29; id. Pers. 1, 2, 17 et saep.; abl. dimidio, with comparatives: dimidio minus opinor, less by half, Plaut. As. 2, 4, 35; Cic. Att. 9, 9, 2; id. Fl. 20, 46; id. Verr. 2, 3, 33; Caes. B. G. 5, 13, 2; Hor. S. 2, 3, 318 et saep.—

2. Like a comp. with quam: vix dimidium militum quam quod acceperat successori tradidit, Liv. 35, 1, 2; 45, 18, 7.—Prov.: dimidium facti, qui coepit, habet, well begun is half done, Hor. Ep. 1, 2, 40; cf. Aus. Ep. 81.—

B. Rarely dī-midia, ae, f. (sc. pars), the half: verbenaca decocta in aqua ad dimidias, Plin. 26, 12, 73, 120.