HALF-MOON

Pronunciation (US):

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does half-moon mean? 

• HALF-MOON (noun)
  The noun HALF-MOON has 2 senses:

1. the crescent-shaped area at the base of the human fingernail

2. the time at which the Moon is at first or last quarter when half its face is illuminated

  Familiarity information: HALF-MOON used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• HALF-MOON (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The crescent-shaped area at the base of the human fingernail

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Synonyms:

half-moon; lunula; lunule

Hypernyms ("half-moon" is a kind of...):

area; region (a part of an animal that has a special function or is supplied by a given artery or nerve)

Holonyms ("half-moon" is a part of...):

nail (horny plate covering and protecting part of the dorsal surface of the digits)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The time at which the Moon is at first or last quarter when half its face is illuminated

Classified under:

Nouns denoting time and temporal relations

Hypernyms ("half-moon" is a kind of...):

phase of the moon (a time when the Moon presents a particular recurring appearance)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "half-moon"):

first quarter (the first fourth of the Moon's period of revolution around the Earth)

last quarter (the last fourth of the Moon's period of revolution around the Earth)

Holonyms ("half-moon" is a part of...):

month (a time unit of approximately 30 days)

 Context examples 

They saw the ships move forward in a large half-moon, but could not discern me, who was up to my breast in water.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)

As we passed the point the whole cove burst upon our view, a half-moon of white sandy beach upon which broke a huge surf, and which was covered with myriads of seals.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

I had risen half-an-hour before her entrance, and had washed my face, and put on my clothes by the light of a half-moon just setting, whose rays streamed through the narrow window near my crib.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)