halfbackn.
/ˈhɑːfbak/, U.S. /ˈhæfˌbæk/ 1.
a. Rugby. Either of the two players, the scrum half (scrum half n. at scrum n. Compounds 2) and the fly-half (fly-half n. at fly n.2 Compounds 2) or stand-off (standoff n. 5), who play between the forwards and the outside backs, distributing the ball to and directing the other players in attack; the position on the pitch of such a player. Cf. half n. 16.In rugby in Australia and New Zealand, the term halfback usually denotes (the position of) the scrum half only.
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society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > characteristics of team ball games > [noun] > players or positions
wing-back1734
goalkeeper1789
outfielder1855
quarter1857
centre fielder1865
outfield1867
quarterback1867
right1867
centre1868
left wing1871
left-back1873
left half-back1873
centre forward1874
left-centre1877
right-centre1877
centre back1878
centre half-back1879
forward1879
back1880
right wing1880
right half-back1881
goaltender1882
right-winger1882
wing1882
centre half1884
left winger1884
inside1886
half1887
custodian1888
left half1888
midfielder1888
left wing1889
right half1889
centreman1890
midfield1890
outside right1890
outfieldsman1891
goalie1894
winger1896
infield1897
inside forward1897
inside right1897
outside forward1897
outside1898
outside left1900
rearguard1904
pivot1911
wing-man1942
keeper1957
link1958
linkman1963
midfield1976
1856 Bell's Life in London 21 Dec. (Town ed.) 6/3 The best players forward and half-back are Starkey.., Prescot, Were, Sandford,..Masters.
1867 London Society Dec. 568/2 A wary ‘stripe’, who, from his place at ‘half-back’, had foreseen the result.
1906 D. Gallaher & W. J. Stead Compl. Rugby Footballer v. 71 The half back as we know him in New Zealand is the donkey man of the team.
1958 K. Pelmear & J. E. Morpurgo Rugby Football viii. 339 Loose scrummaging (now sometimes known as ‘rucking’) was becoming the half-back's delight.
2006 Rugby League World Jan. 26/1 Putting a quality halfback alongside Luke Robinson will give them a dangerous playmaking combination.
b. American Football. A player, typically lining up deeper than or level with the quarterback, whose primary role is to advance the ball by running with it (cf. running back n. at running adj. Compounds 3b); the position on the field of such a player. Also in Canadian Football: (originally) a player playing in an analogous attacking position; (now) a defensive back who defends the area close to the end of the defensive line.Originally, a halfback typically began each play positioned halfway between the offensive line and the fullback; cf. quarterback n. 2a.
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society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > football > American football > [noun] > types of player
side tackle1809
nose guard1852
rusher1877
goalkicker1879
quarterback1879
runner1880
quarter1883
full back1884
left guard1884
snap-back1887
snapper-back1887
running back1891
tackle1891
defensive end1897
guard1897
interferer1897
receiver1897
defensive back1898
defensive tackle1900
safety man1901
ball carrier1902
defensive lineman1902
homebrew1903
offensive lineman1905
lineman1907
returner1911
signal caller1915
rover1916
interference1920
punt returner1926
pass rusher1928
tailback1930
safety1931
blocker1935
faker1938
scatback1946
linesman1947
flanker1953
platoon player1953
corner-back1955
pulling guard1955
split end1955
return man1957
slot-back1959
strong safety1959
wide receiver1960
line-backer1961
pocket passer1963
tight end1963
run blocker1967
wideout1967
blitzer1968
1877 Princetonian 29 Nov. 130/1 Columbia's team was as follows:..Half-backs, Herrick S. S.; Potts '80; Burton '79.
1903 Michiganensian 143 While at that school he played one year at guard and one year at halfback.
1959 N. Mailer Advts. for Myself (1961) 53 He paused, crouched into a halfback's position, waiting for the ball.
1965 Brandon (Manitoba) Sun 13 Sept. 7/6 Halfback Willie Fleming carried the ball 14 times for 72 of B.C.'s [sc. British Columbia Lions] 124 yards rushing.
2018 Winnipeg Free Press 23 July d3/2 A secondary that had two rookies in Marcus Sayles, at halfback, and Tyneil Cooper playing the corner.
2018 Gettysburg (Pa.) Times 20 Aug. b3/5 The injury is not going to change Barkley's role as the starting halfback.
2.
a. Association Football and Hockey. A player (typically one of three) who plays between the forwards and full backs; the position on the field or pitch of such a player.In Association Football, the term fell out of use during the second half of the twentieth cent. as tactics and formations evolved, but is still found in historical contexts. In the modern game, a player occupying a central position on the pitch is usually referred to as a midfielder (midfielder n.). While tactics and formations have undergone similar developments in hockey, the term remains in widespread use.
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society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > football > association football > [noun] > player > types of
marksman1927
marker1928
stopper1934
full back1958
sweeper1964
back four1966
libero1967
clogger1970
anchorman1974
target man1975
shadow1976
anchor1984
1872 Glasgow Herald 2 Dec. 5/7 A list of the teams:—Scotland.—Robert Gardner.., captain and goal;..J. J. Thomson, Queen's Park, and James Smith, South Norwood, half-backs.
1890 Lancing College Mag. Oct. 896/1 The School Eleven then worked very hard, Hill at half-back in the centre being especially good.
1920 E. H. Green Hockey i. 1 The goal-keeper and backs require a heavier stick usually than a half back or a forward.
1966 Times 10 Nov. 5/6 This followed a tackle on the Zaragoza half back, Violeta.
2019 Canberra Times (Nexis) 13 Oct. 48 Half-back Brayden King converted the penalty with a low swoop to the right-hand corner.
b. In Australian Rules football, Gaelic football, and hurling: any of the three players who play between the backline (or full back line) and the centreline; the position on the field or pitch of such a player. Cf. half-forward n.
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society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > football > Australian football > [noun] > players or positions
goalkicker1871
full forward1880
rover1887
ruck1889
position player1900
centreline1911
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > hockey > hurling > [noun] > player > specific position
corner-forward1955
1883 Age (Melbourne) 21 May Suppl. M'Shane, one of the Essendon half-backs, then got the ball, and skirting the western boundary gave Duckett a mark.
1934 Argus (Melbourne) 27 July 12/1 McKay will move from half-back to centre half-forward.
1969 Irish Times 24 Mar. 4/2 The half-backs, of which Tadhg O'Connor was outstanding on the right, fought tigerishly for every ball.
2019 Irish Independent (Nexis) 2 Nov. (Sport section) 8 Howard would probably have been successful as a half-back in any era.
Compounds
halfback flank n. Australian Rules Football either of the outside positions on the halfback line; (also) a player occupying such a position (= halfback flanker n.).
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1924 Register (Adelaide) 5 May 5/4 O'Malley, on the half-back flank, was doing well until he was injured.
1973 P. McKenna My World of Football 103 I don't suppose any young player likes to..find that he is picked to play in the back pocket or a half back flank.
2018 Geelong Advertiser (Nexis) 23 Oct. 42 The star Geelong Falcons halfback flank will today be drafted by the Cats.
halfback flanker n. Australian Rules Football either of the two players occupying the outside positions on the halfback line.
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1929 West Australian (Perth) 9 Aug. 20/1 Budd, regarded by many as the best half-back flanker in the game here.
1965 Sun-Herald (Sydney) 4 July 51 Sydney's half-back flanker Bob Sterling won the President's trophy.
2015 D. Warner Before it Breaks xiv. 119 The half-back flanker who wasn't the last picked but never the first.
halfback line n. the halfbacks in a team considered collectively; the region of the pitch in which the halfbacks are positioned.Now chiefly with reference to sense 2b.
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1883 Princetonian 26 Oct. 170/2 [American Football] That occasionally a rusher be put in the half-back line to teach him what to do when he gets the ball.
1900 Boy's Own Paper 15 Dec. 171/3 [Association Football] The half-back line is an attacking as well as a defending force.
1965 Advertiser (Adelaide) 17 July 25 Its half-forward line..was over-run by the powerful South Adelaide half-back line.
2014 P. Galvin In my Own Words v. 38 [Gaelic football] I played OK alongside them in the half-back line.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2022).
> as lemmas
half-back
half-back n. (Association Football) a position immediately behind the ‘forwards’; a player in this position; also in other games, e.g. American Football, Rugby Football, Australian Rules.
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1882 Standard 20 Nov. 2/8 The half-backs..effectually checked the threatened danger.
1887 M. Shearman Athletics & Football (Badm. Libr.) 346 A good half-back must be a versatile player.
1887 Cent. Mag. Oct. 892 Behind the quarter-back, and covering the two sides of the field, are the ‘half~backs’, the cavalry of the team.
1906 D. Gallaher & W. J. Stead Compl. Rugby Footballer v. 71 The half back as we know him in New Zealand is the donkey man of the team.
1959 N. Mailer Advts. for Myself (1961) 53 He paused, crouched into a halfback's position, waiting for the ball.
1965 Sun-Herald (Sydney) 4 July 51 Sydney's half-back flanker Bob Sterling won the President's trophy.
1965 Advertiser (Adelaide) 17 July 25 Its half-forward line..was over-run by the powerful South Adelaide half-back line.
1968 R. D. Eagleson & I. McKie Terminol. Austral. Nat. Football ii. 14 There are three half-backs in each team: left, centre, and right half-back.
1969 Australian 24 May 39/2 Ian Bremner, Norm Bussell and Peter Chilton constitute a tight-checking half-back line for Hawthorn.
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n.1856as lemmas