# Halfling

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Fictional race appearing in many fantasy works

Halfling An illustration of a halfling. Genre Fantasy Other name Hobbit

**Halflings**, sometimes called [hobbits](/source/Hobbit), are a fictional [race](/source/Race_(fantasy)) found in some [fantasy](/source/Fantasy) [novels](/source/Novel) and [games](/source/Game).

## Description

Halflings are often depicted as similar to [humans](/source/Human) except about half as tall, and are not quite as stocky as the similarly sized [dwarves](/source/Dwarf_(mythology)). They have slightly [pointed ears](/source/Pointed_ears) along with leathery-soled feet which are covered with curly hair. They tend to be portrayed as stealthy and lucky.

## Etymology

Author [J. R. R. Tolkien](/source/J._R._R._Tolkien) originated the race of halflings in his [Middle-earth](/source/Middle-earth) works, usually calling them '[hobbits](/source/Hobbit)'.[1] The [Oxford English Dictionary](/source/Oxford_English_Dictionary) used to credit Tolkien with inventing [the word hobbits](/source/Hobbit_(word)),[2] and [Middle-earth Enterprises](/source/Middle-earth_Enterprises) trademarked the term hobbits, but [evidence of earlier use](/source/Hobbit_(word)#Evidence_of_earlier_use) was discovered.[3]

The term *Halfling* had previously been 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.[4] *Halflin* derives from the Scot word *hauflin*, which was used before both *[The Hobbit](/source/The_Hobbit)* and *[Dungeons & Dragons](/source/Dungeons_%26_Dragons)*[5] and has the synonyms *hobbledehoy* and *hobby*.[5]

## Usage in fantasy fiction

Author [J. R. R. Tolkien](/source/J._R._R._Tolkien) included halflings in his [Middle-earth](/source/Middle-earth) works like 1937's *[The Hobbit](/source/The_Hobbit)* and 1954-1955's *[The Lord of the Rings](/source/The_Lord_of_the_Rings)*. The term has since been used in other fiction works as an alternate name for hobbit-like peoples inspired by [Tolkien's legendarium](/source/Tolkien's_legendarium).[6]

A prominent example is *[Dungeons & Dragons](/source/Dungeons_%26_Dragons)* (D&D), where [halflings](/source/Halfling_(Dungeons_%26_Dragons)) have long been one of the playable humanoid races.[5] In the original 1974 Men & Magic,[7] they were called *hobbits*,[5] but later editions of the original D&D box set changed the name to *halfling*[8] to avoid infringing on the trademark for the term hobbit.[9] Besides licensed D&D novels, halfling characters have appeared in various tabletop and video games.

## Other uses

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](/source/Elf).[10] [Terry Brooks](/source/Terry_Brooks) describes characters such as [Shea Ohmsford](/source/Shea_Ohmsford) from his *[Shannara](/source/Shannara)* series as a halfling of elf–human parentage. In [Jack Vance](/source/Jack_Vance)'s *[Lyonesse](/source/Lyonesse_Trilogy)* series of novels, "halfling" is a generic term for beings such as [fairies](/source/Fairy), [trolls](/source/Troll) and [ogres](/source/Ogre), who are composed of both magical and earthly substances.[11] In [Clifford D. Simak](/source/Clifford_D._Simak)'s 1959 short story "No Life of Their Own", halflings are invisible beings in a parallel dimension who, like [brownies](/source/Brownie_(folklore)) or [gremlins](/source/Gremlin), bring good or bad luck to people.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Tolkien, J. R. R. (1955) *[The Return of the King](/source/The_Return_of_the_King)*, book 5, ch. 1 "Minas Tirith"

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** [Simpson, John](/source/John_Simpson_(lexicographer)) (December 2003). ["Words of choice: a selection of words with unusual origins"](https://web.archive.org/web/20080517014254/http://oed.com/newsletters/2003-12/wordsofchoice.html). *Oxford English Dictionary December 2003 newsletter*. Archived from [the original](http://www.oed.com/newsletters/2003-12/wordsofchoice.html) on 17 May 2008. Retrieved 21 June 2012.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Denham, Michael (1895). Hardy, James (ed.). [*Denham Tracts*](https://archive.org/stream/denhamtractscoll02denhuoft#page/78/mode/2up/search/hobbits). Vol. 2. London: David Nutt for [The Folklore Society](/source/The_Folklore_Society). p. 79.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** *Oxford English Dictionary*. July 2023. halfling, n. & adj.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-tresca2010_5-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-tresca2010_5-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-tresca2010_5-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-tresca2010_5-3) Tresca, Michael J. (2010), [*The Evolution of Fantasy Role-playing Games*](https://books.google.com/books?id=8H8bzqj6S4sC&pg=PA36), McFarland, p. 36, [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0786460090](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0786460090)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-tyler2014_6-0)** [Tyler, J. E. A.](/source/Tony_Tyler) (2014). [*The Complete Tolkien Companion*](https://books.google.com/books?id=-DiuAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT77) (3rd ed.). Macmillan. p. 77. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1466866454](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1466866454).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson (1986). *Dungeons & dragons : fantasy role playing game : basic rules* (3rd ed. / rev. by Frank Mentzer ed.). Place of publication not identified: TSR. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-9511444-0-5](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-9511444-0-5). [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [152411087](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/152411087).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-weinstock2014_8-0)** Weinstock, Jeffrey, ed. (2014). [*The Ashgate Encyclopedia of Literary and Cinematic Monsters*](https://books.google.com/books?id=NI1zBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA193). Ashgate Publishing. p. 193. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1409425625](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1409425625).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-langford2005_9-0)** Langford, David (2005). [*The Sex Column and Other Misprints*](https://books.google.com/books?id=n78kYbvUd_8C&pg=PA188). Wildside Press. p. 188. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [1930997787](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/1930997787).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** Clute, John; Grant, John (1999). [*The Encyclopedia of Fantasy*](https://books.google.com/books?id=mfjAjibERF0C&q=halfling). [St. Martin's Press](/source/St._Martin's_Press). p. 447. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9780312198695](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780312198695).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** Vance, Jack (1983). *Lyonesse: Book I: Suldrun's Garden*. Grafton Books. p. Glossary II: The Fairies. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-586-06027-8](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-586-06027-8).

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Halfling](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halfling) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halfling?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.