half-duplexadj.n.
/ˌhɑːfˈdjuːplɛks/, /ˌhɑːfˈdʒuːplɛks/, U.S. /ˌhæfˈd(j)uˌplɛks/ A. adj.† 1. Designating a type of air or steam compressor used chiefly in mines and designed to work either as a stand-alone machine, or (more commonly) as one of a duplex. Obsolete.In the latter case, the two compressors have slightly different functions, such as compressing air to different pressures, or one compressor compressing steam and the other air.
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1895 Engin. & Mining Jrnl. 2 Feb. 102/2 The engine room..contains the engine, mill pump, fire pump and air compressor (a half-duplex 14 X 42 Corliss).
1914 Daily Consular & Trade Rep. 1107 Air [in the mine] is supplied by a Canadian-Rand cross-compound Corliss compressor..and one half-duplex Allis-Chalmers-Bullock air compressor, class G.
2. Originally and chiefly North American. Designating either of the two separate residences that are part of a duplex building.Frequently in the language of real estate agents.
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society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > building of specific internal arrangement > [adjective]
roomed1596
storeyed1607
wide-roomed1860
staged1884
walkthrough1920
shotgun1938
split-level1952
open plan1954
step-up1958
raised ranch1960
landscaped1968
open-concept1978
1906 Sunday Jrnl. (Minneapolis, Minnesota) 8 July (Classified section) 5/5 Wanted to rent—about eight-room house or half-duplex house.
1980 Winchester (Va.) Star 7 Aug. (Real Estate section) 18/6 5 room, half duplex apartment for rent... Excellent condition. Ideal location.
2021 @BassanoJeff 16 Sept. in twitter.com (accessed 7 July 2022) I was going to rent a ladder..to go on top of my two-storey half-duplex home to clean my gutters this weekend.
3. Telecommunications and Computing. Of a device or system: allowing the transmission of signals in only one direction at a time; of or relating to such transmission. Also of a signal: transmitted by such a system.
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1913 Telephony 23 Aug. 41/2 This combination of duplex set and single line repeater is not as simple as a duplex or half-duplex repeater.
1962 Final Rep. Tiros I Meteorological Satellite Syst. (NASA Techn. Rep. R-131) i. 62/1 A half-duplex teletype circuit was connected directly to the U.S. Weather Bureau's Meteorological Satellite Laboratory.
1995 Byte May 114/2 Conventional LANs fall short in being able to deliver continuous data streams because they use half-duplex protocols, which are designed for the bursty traffic patterns intended for transmitting text and numerical data.
2020 Star Tribune (Nexis) 21 Apr. d4 Other services, such as Skype, support only half-duplex sound, so only one person can talk at a time.
B. n.
Originally and chiefly North American. Either of the two separate residences that are part of a duplex building.Frequently in the language of real estate agents.
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society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > building of specific internal arrangement > [noun]
pseudodipter1692
pseudodipteron1706
catacomb1884
warren1922
three-decker1942
shotgun1945
triplex1962
bi-level1965
1928 Amarillo (Texas) Daily News 6 Jan. (Classified section) 12/4 For rent—unfurnished half duplex; $25.
1990 Snow Country June 41/1 For the most part, these communities consist of single-family homes and half-duplexes, though some areas also offer condominiums and townhomes.
2016 Edmonton (Alberta) Metro 25 Feb. (Metro Home section) 19/1 Spacious half-duplexes with developed basements offer downsizers all the comforts of a larger home with the benefits of maintenance-free condo living.
This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, December 2022).
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adj.n.1895