[1775–85; semi- + vitreous]This word is first recorded in the period 1775–85. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: backfire, impact, interference, polyphonic, waltzsemi- 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