halved

1. 1
   adjective

   Divided into two equal parts or portions.

   The chef arranged the halved figs neatly across the platter.

   She set the halved lemons cut-side down in the pan.

   Similarbisected, split

   Oppositewhole

2. 2
   verb

   Simple past and past participle of halve.

   Engineers halved the travel time with the new bypass route.

   The charity halved the number of families waiting for aid.

   Note

   One spelling does double duty. It is the simple past (they halved the cost) and also the participle after have or be (the cost has been halved). Every meaning of the verb comes with it, including two specialist ones. In carpentry, timbers halved together are each cut to half their thickness at the joint and fitted. In match play, a halved hole or match ends in a tie.

3. 3
   adjective

   Having the appearance of one side cut away, as though only half the structure is present.

   The botanist noted the halved appearance of the anther under magnification.

   Several specimens showed a distinctly halved form, flattened on one face.

   Note

   A botanist's word for a shape, not a cut: nothing has been divided, and the structure simply grows as though one side were missing. It is the plain-English partner of dimidiate, used of an anther or a lichen apothecium developed on a single side. Unlike the literal 'divided' meaning, it takes no degrees. A part is halved or it is not, never "more halved."

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