Other forms: halters
A halter is a rope or strap put over an animal's head to lead it. Put on the halter, lead by the halter, a leather halter.
It has no bit and goes over the head rather than into the mouth, which is what separates it from a bridle: a halter is for leading and tying, a bridle for riding. A halter neck dress is named from the strap that goes round the neck the same way.
1nounhalterA rope or strap put over an animal's head to lead it.
“She slipped a halter over the pony's head and led it out of the field.”
halter is a strap.
Old English haelftre names the strap, from a Germanic root meaning a handle or something held.
Proto-Indo-European
*(s)kelH- — to cut
Proto-West Germanic
*halftrijā — harness
Old English
hælfter
Middle English
halter
English, today
halter
Built from
From Middle English halter, helter, helfter, from Old English hælfter, hælftre (“halter”), from Proto-West Germanic halftrijā (“harness”), from Proto-Indo-European (s)kelH- (“to cut”), equivalent to half + ter. Cognate with Scots helter (“halter”), Dutch halfter, halster (“halter”), Low German halfter, helchter, halter (“halter”), German Halfter (“halter, holster”).
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA