Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Having only one parent that is purebred; half-blooded. Used of animals.
from The Century Dictionary.
- Of mixed breed; mongrel: as, a half-bred dog, horse, etc.
- Imperfectly acquainted with the rules of good breeding.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective obsolete Half-blooded.
- adjective Imperfectly acquainted with the rules of good-breeding; not well trained.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective (of animals) having only one purebred parent
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
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Examples
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The Director thought that the changeling, whom he had seen, was very likely a half-bred hunter, which hadn't been eligible for Stud Book entry in the first place, and of whom there would be no official record anywhere.
The Elvis Latte Allie Dresser 2010
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Vivi, deciding that they should use a half-bred unregistered throw-out as their entry to the sales, had bought one from a knacker's yard for peanuts; a bay with a white star, common as dirt.
The Elvis Latte Allie Dresser 2010
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A Roma would trust anyone before a diddakoibefore the half-bred people who were born of gypsy and gorja.
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So, he spat, like your mother, you prefer this creature, this half-bred demon thing to your own blood, your own family?
Cassandra Clare: The Mortal Instrument Series Cassandra Clare 2009
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A half-bred, half-acting, half-thinking, half-daring caitiff, whose poorest thoughts — and those which deserve that name must be poor indeed — are not the produce of his own understanding.
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I came this way with the falcon on purpose to find you, and yon half-bred lubbard told me which way you took flight.
The Abbot 2008
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Arabian which looks like a Kurdish half-bred, the descendant of those Cappadocians so much prized by the Romans: in Syria I rode a
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So, he spat, like your mother, you prefer this creature, this half-bred demon thing to your own blood, your own family?
The Mortal Instruments: Book One: City of Bones Cassandra Clare 2007
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I had brought out two first-rate horses, both stallions, one half-bred, the other three-quarters; they were called Salim and Harpash.
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I often think a parvenue, or half-bred woman, would burst if she had to do as I do.
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