half step
1Half step — Step Step, n. [AS. st[ae]pe. See {Step}, v. i.] 1. An advance or movement made by one removal of the foot; a pace. [1913 Webster] 2. A rest, or one of a set of rests, for the foot in ascending or descending, as a stair, or a round of a ladder.… …
2Half step — Half Half (h[aum]f), a. [AS. healf, half, half; as a noun, half, side, part; akin to OS., OFries., & D. half, G. halb, Sw. half, Dan. halv, Icel. h[=a]lfr, Goth. halbs. Cf. {Halve}, {Behalf}.] 1. Consisting of a moiety, or half; as, a half… …
3half step — half′ step n. 1) mad semitone 2) mil Mil. a step 15 in. (38 cm) long in quick time and 18 in. (46 cm) long in double time • Etymology: 1900–05 …
4half step — n. 1. Mil. a short marching step of fifteen inches (in double time, eighteen inches) 2. Music SEMITONE …
5half step — n AmE the difference in ↑pitch between any two notes that are next to each other on a piano = ↑semitone …
6half step — half ,step noun count AMERICAN TECHNICAL an amount by which one sound is higher or lower than another, equal to 1/12 of an OCTAVE. This difference occurs between any two notes that are next to each other on a piano …
7half step — UK / US noun [countable] Word forms half step : singular half step plural half steps music American a semitone …
8half step — a unit used in music to describe the ratio in frequency between notes. Equal to 1/12 octave, the half step measures the difference between adjacent notes in the standard 12 tone scale, as on a piano keyboard. Two notes differ in frequency by a …
9half step gearing — See half step gearing …
10half step — noun Date: 1904 1. a walking step of 15 inches or in double time of 18 inches 2. a musical interval (as E F or B C) equivalent to 1/12 of an octave called also semitone …