Definition
The time required for a radioactive substance to decay to half its original amount; used more broadly to mean a period of gradual decline.
Etymology
From 'half' + 'life'. This scientific term emerged in the early 1900s as physicists studying radioactivity needed vocabulary for decay processes. The term combines everyday English words to express a precise scientific concept.
Kelly Says
Halflife is brilliant because it takes a simple mathematical idea—'how long until half is gone?'—and made it fundamental to understanding everything from uranium to carbon dating to how medicines work in your body. It's one of English's greatest scientific contributions.
Translations
AMአማርኛ
半 ህይወት
ban hi-yew-et
ARالعربية
نصف عمر
nafs ʿumur
BNবাংলা
আধা জীবনকাল
aadhaa jee-bon-kaal
CACatalà
mitja vida
mit-ja vee-da
CSČeština
poloviční doba
polo-vi-t-ni-doba
DADansk
halveringstid
hal-ver-ings-tid
DEDeutsch
Halbwertszeit
halb-werts-tsayt
ELΕλληνικά
ημιζωή
e-mi-zo-ē
ESEspañol
semivida
seh-mee-vee-dah
FAفارسی
نیمه عمر
ni-me ʿumur
FISuomi
puoliintumisaika
pouli-in-tu-mi-sai-ka
FRFrançais
demi-vie
deh-mee-vee
GUGU
આધા જીવનકાળ
aadhaa jee-van-kaal
HAHA
hannun rayuwa
han-nun rayuwa
HEעברית
חצי חיים
chatzi chayim
HIहिन्दी
आधा जीवनकाल
aadhaa jeevan-kaal
HUMagyar
féle élet
fe-le e-let
IDBahasa Indonesia
setengah kehidupan
se-ten-gah ke-hi-daan
IGIG
nkechi ndu
nke-chi n-du
ITItaliano
semivita
seh-mee-vee-tah
KKKK
жартылай өмір
jartylai ömir
KMKM
កម្រិត មួយ
kam-rit mu-oy
MRMR
आधा जीवनकाल
aadhaa jeevan-kaal
MSBahasa Melayu
setengah hayat
se-ten-gah hai-at
MYမြန်မာ
အလယ်အချိန်
a-lel-a-che-in
NLNederlands
halfwaardetijd
half-waarde-tijd
NONorsk
halveringstid
hal-ver-ings-tid
PAPA
ਅੱਧਾ ਜੀਵਨ
adhaa jee-van
PLPolski
półokres życia
pół-okres ży-cia
PTPortuguês
meia vida
may-ah vee-dah
RORomână
jumătate de viață
jumă-tăți de viață
RUРусский
половина жизни
polo-vina zhizni
SVSvenska
halveringstid
hal-ver-ings-tid
SWKiswahili
nusu ya maisha
nu-su ya ma-sha
TAதமிழ்
அரை ஆயுள்
arai a-yul
TEతెలుగు
ఆరవై జీవితకాలం
aara-vai jee-vi-ta-kaalam
THไทย
ครึ่งอายุ
krung-a-yu
TLTL
kalahating buhay
ka-la-ha-ting bu-hay
TRTürkçe
yarım ömür
yarim ö-mür
UKУкраїнська
половина життя
polo-vina zhyt-tya
URاردو
آدھی عمر
aadhee ʿumur
VITiếng Việt
nửa chu kỳ
nua chu ky
YOYO
ẹ̀kọ̀ ọ̀sán
e-ko-o-san
ZUZU
ikazi yomusa
i-ka-zi yo-mu-sa