[1895–1900; semi- + coma]This word is first recorded in the period 1895–1900. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: apothecaries' measure, backwind, flamenco, freewheel, slapsticksemi- is a combining form borrowed from Latin, meaning “half,” freely prefixed to Englishwords of any origin, now sometimes with the senses “partially,” “incompletely,” “somewhat”.Other words that use the affix semi- include: semiautomatic, semidetached, semimonthly, semisophisticated