halten

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

halten

1. plural of halte

Etymology

From Middle High German halten, from Old High German haltan, from Proto-West Germanic *haldan, from Proto-Germanic *haldaną.

Cognate with Bavarian hoidn, Low German holden, Dutch houden, holen, English hold, Danish holde, Icelandic halda, Swedish hålla.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈhaltn̩/, /ˈhaltən/

• Audio (Germany):

  (file)

• Audio (Austria):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -altn̩

Verb

halten (class 7 strong, third-person singular present hält, past tense hielt, past participle gehalten, auxiliary haben)

1. (transitive) to hold
2. (transitive) to stop; to halt; to hold back

   Haltet den Dieb! ― Stop the thief!

3. (transitive) to support; to hold up
4. (transitive) to keep; to maintain; to hold

   Der Wein hält mich jung. ― Wine keeps me young.

5. (transitive, of animals) to keep
   • 2012 June 21, Die Welt‎, archived from the original on 12 April 2013, page 22:

     In der Sahara haben prähistorische Bewohner schon vor 7000 Jahren Milchvieh gehalten.

     In the Sahara, prehistoric inhabitants kept dairy cattle already 7000 years ago.

6. (intransitive) to hold; to keep; to stay
7. (intransitive) to stop

   Der Zug hält nicht in Würzburg. ― The train doesn’t stop in Würzburg.

8. (transitive) to take for, to consider [with für]

   Ich halte das für eine Schnapsidee. ― I think that's a rubbish idea.

   Hält er mich für einen Trottel? ― Does he take me for a fool?

   • 2010, Der Spiegel‎, number 32/2010, page 45:

     Wieder einmal hatte es erhitzte Debatten gegeben zwischen Tierschützern und solchen, die Stierkampf für ein schützenswertes Kulturerbe Spaniens halten.

     Once again there had been heated debates between animal rights activists and ones who consider bullfighting a cultural heritage of Spain worth protecting.

9. (reflexive) to consider, to think, to believe [with für]

   Sie hält sich für besonders gescheit. ― She considers herself to be particularly clever.

   Er hält sich für Jesus. ― He believes he is Jesus.

10. (reflexive) to adhere to, to follow (rules, the law, etc.) [with an]

    Er ist ein Aufrührer, der sich nicht an Ihre Regeln hält. ― He's a rebel who doesn't follow your rules.

    • 2010, Der Spiegel‎, number 46/2010, page 103:

      Die boomende Branche privater Sicherheitsfirmen will sich künftig an strengere Regeln in Krisenregionen halten

      The booming sector of private security companies wants to adhere to stricter rules in crisis regions in the future.

11. (transitive) expresses a positive or negative opinion (with indefinite expression as a complement, most commonly one of "viel/wenig/nichts") [with von]

    Ich halte viel von Dieter. ― I like Dieter a lot.

    Ich halte wenig von Tomaten. ― I do not like tomatoes very much.

12. (transitive) to give (a presentation, lecture etc.)

    Ich halte morgen ein Referat. ― I'm giving a presentation tomorrow.

Further reading

• “halten” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• “halten” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon
• “halten” in Duden online
• “halten” in OpenThesaurus.de

Alternative forms

• halden

Etymology

Inherited from Old High German haltan, from Proto-West Germanic *haldan.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (before 13^th CE) /ˈhaltən/

Verb

halten (class 7 strong, third-person singular present haltet or heltet, past tense hielt, past participle gehalten, auxiliary hān)

1. to hold
2. to stop

Noun

halten

1. definite singular of halt