View source for Halfling

{{Short description|Fictional race appearing in many fantasy works}}
{{Infobox fictional race
| name                = Halfling
| image               = Halfling Thief.png
| caption             = An illustration of a halfling.
| genre               = Fantasy
| other_names         = [[Hobbit]]
}}
'''Halflings''' are a fictional [[race (fantasy)|race]] found in some [[fantasy]] works. They tend to be depicted as physically similar to [[human]]s, except about half as tall and not as stocky as the similarly sized [[Dwarf (mythology)|dwarves]]. Halflings are often depicted as having slightly [[pointed ears]] along with leathery-soled feet which are covered with curly hair. They tend to be portrayed as stealthy and lucky. The term is derived for the word used in Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Northern England for a child who is not yet fully grown. Halflings are found in many [[fantasy]] [[novel]]s and [[game]]s, including as an alternative term for [[Hobbit|hobbits]] in [[J. R. R. Tolkien]]'s [[Middle-earth]] and as playable humanoid races in ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]].''

== Description ==
The members of the fictional halfling [[race (fantasy)|race]] are often depicted as similar to [[human]]s except about half as tall, and are not quite as stocky as the similarly sized [[Dwarf (mythology)|dwarves]]. Similar to the depiction of [[hobbit]]s in the works of [[J. R. R. Tolkien]], which are sometimes called halflings, they have slightly [[pointed ears]], their feet are covered with curly hair with leathery soles, and they tend to be portrayed as stealthy and lucky.

== Etymology ==

''Halfling'' is a word used in Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Northern England for a boy or girl who is not yet fully grown; a youth, an adolescent, and formerly sometimes a boy or young man employed in a junior role in domestic, agricultural, or industrial work.<ref>{{Cite dictionary |title=Oxford English Dictionary |date=July 2023 |at=halfling, n. & adj.}}</ref> ''Halflin'' derives from the Scot word ''hauflin'', which was used before both ''[[The Hobbit]]'' and ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]''<ref name="tresca2010">{{citation |title=The Evolution of Fantasy Role-playing Games |first1=Michael J. |last1=Tresca |publisher=McFarland |year=2010 |isbn=978-0786460090 |page=36 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8H8bzqj6S4sC&pg=PA36}}</ref> and has the synonyms ''hobbledehoy'' and ''hobby''.<ref name="tresca2010" />

==Usage in fantasy fiction==

Halflings are found in some [[fantasy]] [[novel]]s and [[game]]s. In ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'', [[J. R. R. Tolkien]] occasionally used the term "halfling" to describe hobbits, since they are beings that are half the height of men. For instance, when the hobbit [[Pippin Took]] appears in a royal guard's uniform in [[Minas Tirith]], the people of that city call him the "Prince of Halflings".<ref>Tolkien, J. R. R. (1955) ''[[The Return of the King]]'', book 5, ch. 1 "Minas Tirith"</ref> The term has since been used in other fiction works as an alternate name for hobbit-like peoples inspired by [[Tolkien's legendarium]].<ref name="tyler2014">{{cite book |last1=Tyler |first1=J. E. A. |author-link=Tony Tyler |title=The Complete Tolkien Companion |page=77 |edition=3rd |publisher=Macmillan |year=2014 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-DiuAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT77 |isbn=978-1466866454}}</ref>

[[Halfling (Dungeons & Dragons)|Halflings]] have long been one of the playable humanoid races in ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]'' (D&D),<ref name="tresca2010"/> starting with the original 1974 Men & Magic,<ref>{{Cite book |last=by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson |title=Dungeons & dragons : fantasy role playing game : basic rules |date=1986 |publisher=TSR |isbn=0-9511444-0-5 |edition=3rd ed. / rev. by Frank Mentzer |location=Place of publication not identified |oclc=152411087}}</ref> where the term ''hobbit'' was used.<ref name="tresca2010" /> Later editions of the original D&D box set began using the name ''halfling'' as an alternative to ''hobbit''<ref name="weinstock2014">{{cite book |title=The Ashgate Encyclopedia of Literary and Cinematic Monsters |editor1-first=Jeffrey |editor1-last=Weinstock |publisher=Ashgate Publishing |year=2014 |isbn=978-1409425625 |page=193 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NI1zBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA193}}</ref> for legal reasons.<ref name="langford2005">{{cite book |title=The Sex Column and Other Misprints |first=David |last=Langford |page=188 |publisher=Wildside Press |year=2005 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n78kYbvUd_8C&pg=PA188 |isbn=1930997787}}</ref> Besides licensed D&D novels, halfling characters have appeared in various tabletop and video games.

Some fantasy stories use the term ''halfling'' to describe a person born of a human parent and a parent of another race, often a female human and a male [[elf]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Clute |first1=John |last2=Grant |first2=John |title=The Encyclopedia of Fantasy |date=1999 |publisher=[[St. Martin's Press]] |isbn=9780312198695 |page=447 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mfjAjibERF0C&q=halfling}}</ref> [[Terry Brooks]] describes characters such as [[Shea Ohmsford]] from his ''[[Shannara]]'' series as a halfling of elf–human parentage. In [[Jack Vance]]'s ''[[Lyonesse Trilogy|Lyonesse]]'' series of novels, "halfling" is a generic term for beings such as [[fairy|fairies]], [[troll]]s and [[ogre]]s, who are composed of both magical and earthly substances.<ref>{{cite book |last=Vance |first=Jack |title=Lyonesse: Book I: Suldrun's Garden |year=1983 |publisher=Grafton Books |isbn=0-586-06027-8 |page=Glossary II: The Fairies}}</ref> In [[Clifford D. Simak]]'s 1959 short story "No Life of Their Own", halflings are invisible beings in a parallel dimension who, like [[Brownie (folklore)|brownies]] or [[gremlin]]s, bring good or bad luck to people.{{cn|date=November 2020}}

==References==

{{reflist}}

{{D&D topics}}
{{Fantasy fiction}}
{{Fairies}}

[[Category:Fictional humanoids]]
[[Category:Fictional human hybrids]]
[[Category:Fictional species and races]]