half-volleyv.
/ˌhɑːfˈvɒli/, U.S. /ˌhæfˈvɑli/, /ˈhæfˌvɑli/ Sport (esp. Association Football and Tennis).
1. transitive. To hit or kick (a ball) immediately after it bounces on the ground; to strike as a half-volley.
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society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > [verb (transitive)] > play ball in specific way
tossc1530
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place1819
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stroke1960
1876 New Q. Mag. Jan. 387 It is good play to send balls which can only be half-volleyed in return.
1897 Current Lit. May 461/1 There are plenty of players who..can volley or half-volley a ball against the end-wall with such strength as to send it out of the other end of the court.
1930 Morning Bull. (Rockhampton, Queensland) 4 Feb. 7/6 Darling..half volleyed a ball fair into the hands of Goodwin at mid on.
1983 Daily Mail 12 Sept. 35/1 Tempest..half-volleyed a loose ball past George Wood from close range on the stroke of half-time.
2012 D. Barbarossa Mud Sharks 282 I flicked it up and half-volleyed it to Mick.
2. intransitive. To hit or kick a ball immediately after it bounces on the ground; to execute a half-volley.
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society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > play at ball [verb (intransitive)] > hit in specific manner
bank1604
English1875
slice1890
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > racket games > lawn tennis > play tennis [verb (intransitive)] > types of stroke
volley1819
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to kill a ball1883
press1897
undercut1926
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moonball1982
softball1982
1884 Manch. Guardian 2 May (Morning Express ed.) 3/7 The fourth set was better contested,..Pettitt..volleying and half volleying all over the court.
1931 Evening Tel. & Post (Dundee) 30 June 1/2 Page then half-volleyed ahead for four.
1969 New Yorker 14 June 45/3 Ashe, moving up, is again confronted with the need to half-volley.
2011 M. Palmer Professor (rev. ed.) vii. 185 It popped out to Kanu, who half-volleyed into the corner of the net from eight yards.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2022).
half-volleyn.
/ˌhɑːfˈvɒli/, U.S. /ˌhæfˈvɑli/, /ˈhæfˌvɑli/ Sport (esp. Association Football, Cricket, and Tennis).
1. Cricket. A ball which pitches too close to the batter and can be struck immediately after bouncing, allowing the batter to play an attacking shot with little risk; (also in extended use) a ball which pitches just in front of the fielder.
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society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > cricket > bowling > [noun] > a ball bowled > types of delivery or ball
full toss1826
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short pitch1877
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lob ball1880
off-break1883
donkey-drop1888
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leg-breaker1892
kicker1894
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wrong 'un1897
googly1903
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short ball1911
wrong 'un1911
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bouncer1913
flyer1913
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finger-spinner1920
inswinger1920
outswinger1920
swinger1920
off-spinner1924
away swinger1925
Chinaman1929
overspinner1930
tweaker1938
riser1944
leg-cutter1949
seamer1952
leggy1954
off-cutter1955
squatter1955
flipper1959
lifter1959
cutter1960
beamer1961
loosener1962
doosra1999
1836 New Sporting Mag. Oct. 361 The ground was so dead that all good length balls were no better than long hops; yet if pitched farther up, became half volleys.
1843 ‘Wykhamist’ Pract. Hints Cricket 12 All balls pitching between the first line and the crease..are technically termed half vollies.
1867 G. H. Selkirk Guide to Cricket Ground v. 83 The half volley..requires practice to ensure its being picked up properly.
1891 W. G. Grace Cricket viii. 233 Occasionally you may get a half-volley on the pads.
1925 Times 31 Aug. 5/2 Bowley paid the penalty for trying to glance instead of hitting at a half-volley, and was caught at ‘leg-slip’.
1963 C. L. R. James Beyond a Boundary (2000) vi. 76 One afternoon at a scratch match Joe Small..drove a half-volley so hard at John's feet that he had to skip out of the way.
2020 Courier Mail (Queensland) (Nexis) 11 Jan. 77 He hit a half-volley straight to cover. It wasn't the greatest-ever ball but I'll take it.
2. The action or an instance of hitting or kicking a ball immediately after it bounces on the ground; a particular player's manner of doing this. Cf. volley n. 6b.
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society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > racket games > lawn tennis > [noun] > types of stroke
service1611
serving1688
screw1865
cut1874
cutting service1874
boast1878
first serve1878
smash1882
twister1884
cross-shot1889
lob1890
ground stroke1895
lob ball1900
twist service1901
boasting1902
cross-volley1905
get1911
chop1913
forehander1922
kick serve1925
forehand1934
touch shot1936
dink1939
net shot1961
overhead1964
groundie1967
slice1969
moonball1975
moonballing1977
1838 Observer 25 June 1/5 Two games Lamb won by the half volley behind him, which brought the ball into play, and afterwards enabled him to win the game.
1870 London Society Nov. 425/1 The mode of playing a ball so well known at tennis, not quite half-volley.
1908 Manch. Guardian 18 Apr. 8/1 Before half time Lot Jones equalised with a half volley shot from an excellent pass by Webb.
1985 N.Y. Mag. 19 Aug. (Special Advertising Suppl.) 3/3 His half-volley is the best in the business.
2012 G. Hunter Barça x. 277 His sublime half-volley for Spain against Steve McClaren's England.
Phrases
on the half-volley: so as to be struck as a half-volley; immediately after the ball bounces on the ground.
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1864 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Jan. 90/2 The remarkable punishment which he dealt out to the ball, when he was lucky enough to catch it on the ‘half-volley’.
1884 County Gentleman 12 July 882/2 The way he returned some very hard strokes on the half volley being marvellous.
1948 D. Reese Was it all Cricket? xiii. 181 Towards the end of the innings Nott..hit him on the half-volley hard and low to square-leg.
2001 Western Gaz. (Electronic ed.) 4 Oct. Butler..hit the ball on the half-volley from 25 yards to put his team 2-0 up.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2022).
> as lemmas
half-volley
half-volley n. (a) Cricket, Football, etc. a ball which pitches so that it can be hit or kicked as soon as it rises from the ground; (hence also) Cricket a ball which pitches just in front of a fieldsman; (b) Lawn Tennis a stroke made when the ball has just left the ground; so half-volleyer; half-volleying vbl. n.; also half-volley vb.
ΚΠ
1843 ‘Wykhamist’ Pract. Hints Cricket 12 All balls pitching between the first line and the crease..are technically termed half vollies.
1843 ‘Wykhamist’ Pract. Hints Cricket 17 A leg half-volley..may be..‘dropped into’ now and then.
1851 J. Pycroft Cricket Field viii. 168 Every one knows the difficulty of making a good half-volley hit off a slow ball.
1851 J. Pycroft Cricket Field x. 189 If a bowler has half volleys returned to him, by stretching and stooping after them, he gets out of his swing.
1867 G. H. Selkirk Guide to Cricket Ground v. 83 The half volley..requires practice to ensure its being picked up properly.
1870 London Society Nov. 425/1 The mode of playing a ball so well known at tennis, not quite half~volley.
1875 ‘Stonehenge’ Man. Brit. Rural Sports (ed. 12) iii. i. v. §4. 691 Half-volleying consists in playing the ball when close to the ground, immediately after it has been dropped.
c1880 A correspondent says : A half-volley at cricket is a ball bowled up so as to pitch just about the point at which the batsman has a good reach.
1891 W. G. Grace Cricket viii. 233 Occasionally you may get a half-volley on the pads.
1897 Earl of Suffolk et al. Encycl. Sport I. 621/2 Half-volley, a stroke made the moment the ball leaves the ground.
1912 Daily News 11 July 2 A famous half-volleyer.
1960 Times 21 June 16/1 Taylor half-volleyed a return into the net.
1963 A. Ross Australia 63 iii. 76 He played at nothing he did not have to, leaving Davidson to flash the odd half-volley through the covers.
1969 New Yorker 14 June 45/1 Players call it a half-volley drop shot. Ashe reaches down, lightly touches the rising ball, and sends it on a slow, sharply angled flight toward the net.
1969 New Yorker 14 June 45/3 Ashe, moving up, is again confronted with the need to half-volley.
half-volley
half-volley n. (a) Cricket, Football, etc. a ball which pitches so that it can be hit or kicked as soon as it rises from the ground; (hence also) Cricket a ball which pitches just in front of a fieldsman; (b) Lawn Tennis a stroke made when the ball has just left the ground; so half-volleyer; half-volleying vbl. n.; also half-volley vb.
ΚΠ
1843 ‘Wykhamist’ Pract. Hints Cricket 12 All balls pitching between the first line and the crease..are technically termed half vollies.
1843 ‘Wykhamist’ Pract. Hints Cricket 17 A leg half-volley..may be..‘dropped into’ now and then.
1851 J. Pycroft Cricket Field viii. 168 Every one knows the difficulty of making a good half-volley hit off a slow ball.
1851 J. Pycroft Cricket Field x. 189 If a bowler has half volleys returned to him, by stretching and stooping after them, he gets out of his swing.
1867 G. H. Selkirk Guide to Cricket Ground v. 83 The half volley..requires practice to ensure its being picked up properly.
1870 London Society Nov. 425/1 The mode of playing a ball so well known at tennis, not quite half~volley.
1875 ‘Stonehenge’ Man. Brit. Rural Sports (ed. 12) iii. i. v. §4. 691 Half-volleying consists in playing the ball when close to the ground, immediately after it has been dropped.
c1880 A correspondent says : A half-volley at cricket is a ball bowled up so as to pitch just about the point at which the batsman has a good reach.
1891 W. G. Grace Cricket viii. 233 Occasionally you may get a half-volley on the pads.
1897 Earl of Suffolk et al. Encycl. Sport I. 621/2 Half-volley, a stroke made the moment the ball leaves the ground.
1912 Daily News 11 July 2 A famous half-volleyer.
1960 Times 21 June 16/1 Taylor half-volleyed a return into the net.
1963 A. Ross Australia 63 iii. 76 He played at nothing he did not have to, leaving Davidson to flash the odd half-volley through the covers.
1969 New Yorker 14 June 45/1 Players call it a half-volley drop shot. Ashe reaches down, lightly touches the rising ball, and sends it on a slow, sharply angled flight toward the net.
1969 New Yorker 14 June 45/3 Ashe, moving up, is again confronted with the need to half-volley.
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