Dictionary

behalf en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• bĭhăfˈ (US)
• bĭhäf (US)
• /bəˈhɑːf/ (UK)
• (US) audio
• /bɪˈhæf/ (US)
• /bɪˈhɑːf/ (UK)

Etymology

From Middle English bihalve (“nearby”), from Old English bī healfe (“by [his/her] side”), from bī (“by”) + healfe (“side, half”), equivalent to be- + half.

Meanings

1. The interest, benefit, or wellbeing of someone or something.
   • She appeared on behalf of the U.N. Secretary General at a conference held in behalf of the world's children.
   • The one exception to this was William Hilhouse, who was widely regarded as the colonist with the greatest experience of the interior and its native inhabitants, on whose behalf he endlessly campaigned. 2006, Peter Rivière, The Guiana Travels of Robert Schomburgk, 1835-1844, →ISBN:
   • The NUL, on the other hand, never felt that its position among civil rights organizations was threatened, and considered itself unique because of its historic commitment to advocacy on behalf of low-income African Americans. 2013, Catherine M. Paden, Civil Rights Advocacy on Behalf of the Poor, →ISBN, page 108:
2. (qualifier:when adopted by someone else) One's role or rightful place; stead or authority.
   • Hillary Clinton hasn’t hit the campaign trail yet on behalf of Democrats running in 2018, but that isn’t stopping Republicans from using the former 2016 Democratic presidential nominee as a reliable campaign boogeyman. 2018 March 30, Eric Bradner, “Hillary Clinton re-emerges as GOP’s reliable boogeyman”, in CNN, archived from the original on 24 Jun 2019:
   • Which indeed is so true, that she herself may seek back for her own gain the dowry offered by another on her behalf, unless by chance he who offered it immediately (that is, at the time of offering or of promising) stipulated or made an agreement that the afore-mentioned dowry would be returned to him. 2002, Judith Evans Grubbs, Women and the Law in the Roman Empire, →ISBN:
   • He was not only my Representative who died on my behalf; He was my Substitute who died in my very stead. 1994, J. Sidlow Baxter, Awake, My Heart: Daily Devotional Studies for the Year, →ISBN, page 104:
   • The Agent shall have all of the powers, rights, discretions, elections, and authority conferred by statute, the common law, or rule of court or governmental agency that are reasonably necessary for the Agent to act on my behalf for any purpose. 2004, Joan M. Burda, Estate Planning for Same-sex Couples, →ISBN, page 133:

Forms

Deriveds

on behalf of · behalfism · in behalf of

Translations (8)

sw niaba (behalf) · nn vegner (behalf) · de Vorteil (behalf) · fi puoli see (puolesta) (behalf) · it a vantaggio di (behalf) · de Interesse (behalf) · de Nutzen (behalf) · nb vegne (behalf)