half-thickn.adj.
/ˈhɑːfθɪk/, U.S. /ˈhæfˌθɪk/ (in senses B. 2 and B. 3)Brit. /ˌhɑːfˈθɪk/, U.S. /ˌhæfˈθɪk/ A. n.
A kind of coarse woollen cloth; a piece of this. Now historical.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > textile fabric > textile fabric with specific qualities > [noun] > coarse or rough > other
grey russetc1400
raploch1535
roudgea1549
reading1580
burracan1588
stand far off1613
stand-further-off1619
homespun1651
half-thick1693
soldier's cloth1753
toile de ménage1794
rugging1838
stramin1914
1613 J. May Declar. Estate of Clothing v. 32 There haue some merchants caused counterfeit Deuonshire kersies to bee made in Yorkshire out of washers or halfethicks.
1693 London Gaz. No. 2914/4 Broad-Cloths, Serges half thicks, Duffils, Kerseys.
1725 D. Defoe Compl. Eng. Tradesman I. xxiii. 394 Kerseys, Cottons, Half-Thicks, Duffields..in Lancashire and Westmoreland.
1788 T. Jefferson Let. 21 July in Papers (1956) XIII. 393 Patterns of the following Articles... Coarse half thicks—coarse Duffield or Bearskin.
1805 in D. Meaders Advts. Runaway Slaves Virginia, 1801–20 (2012) 49 He..had also a coat of half thick, double breasted, and long breeches of the same.
2016 R. S. DuPlessis Material Atlantic 116 Certain textiles gained a kind of Amerindian ethnic association..as did specific colors, patterns, and finishes of more widely used fabrics, such as purple halfthicks and flowered and embossed serge.
B. adj.
1. Designating a kind of coarse woollen cloth, or an item of clothing made from this. Now historical.
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1660 in G. F. Dow Probate Rec. Essex County, Mass. (1916) I. 322 A pece of halfe thick kercy, 3li.
1713 in J. A. Johnston Probate Inventories of Lincoln Citizens 1661–1714 (1991) 139 42 yards of half thick Kersey att 12d per yard.
1793 Sun 23 Mar. (advt.) Blue half thick unlined waistcoats, Blue half thick breeches.
2000 G. S. Allen Threads of Bondage (Ph.D. diss., George Washington Univ.) 119 In 1794, Thomas Jefferson ordered..blue and green half-thick cloth that was probably intended for his artisans and servants.
2. Of half the normal or full thickness.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > thickness > thinness > [adjective] > half normal thickness
half-thick1883
1676 J. Moxon Regulæ Trium Ordinum 46 The Head and Foot-lines are half thick.
1678 Proc. Gen. Assembly 9 Nov. in W. H. Browne Arch. Maryland (1889) VII. 40 Capt Quigleys peticion he pave the ffloore of the state howse with Purbeck Paving stone halfe thick.
1852 C. Tomlinson Cycl. Useful Arts (1854) I. 641/2 Rubbers..with one side rounded..are termed half-thick.
1884 Cassell's Encycl. Dict. IV. i. 107/1 Half-thick file, a large coarse file with one rounded and three flat sides. It is used as a rubber-file for coarse work.
1926 L. D. Clark & S. J. Tracy Laws relating to Payment of Wages (Bull. U.S. Bureau Labor Statistics: No. 408) App. 171 The half thick regular Conklin coffee cup to be the limit in size of the Ovide style extra tea or coffee cups.
2014 High-Performance Composites Sept. 76/3 We overlapped two half-thick 45° sections to enable a transition with a full thickness.
3. colloquial. Half-witted; rather slow or stupid. Cf. thick adj. 9b.
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1821 ‘L. Gibbons’ Cavalier II. ii. 48 ‘Pall Bloomer's as great an oaf as thou art,’ said his mistress; ‘ye're both hawf-thick.’
1883 T. Lees Easther's Gloss. Dial. Almondbury & Huddersfield Hauf-thick, when applied to bacon means half-fed, or half-fat, but if to a man, half-witted.
2019 @forsyth696 12 Feb. in twitter.com (accessed 22 July 2019) Aren't ex players all half thick? Sounds like another shambles in the making.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2022).
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n.adj.1613