# behalf

Pronunciation: US say "bi-HAF" /bɪˈhæf/; UK say "bi-HAHF" /bɪˈhɑːf/

## Noun

1. The interest, benefit, or wellbeing of a person or thing.
   - Simple: The good or benefit of a person, group, or thing.
   - _Advocates lobbied on behalf of patients who had been denied coverage by their insurers._
   - _She set aside her own plans and acted entirely on behalf of her ailing mother._
2. A person's role, rightful place, or authority, especially as assumed by someone acting in their stead.
   - Simple: Someone's place or right to act, taken up by another person acting for them.
   - _The deputy chaired the meeting on behalf of the absent director._
   - _As executor, he managed the accounts on behalf of the estate._

## Origin

From Middle English bihalve ("nearby"), from Old English bī healfe ("by [his/her] side"), formed from bī ("by") plus healfe ("side, half").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/behalf (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).