behalf

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be·half

(bĭ-hăf′, -häf′)

Interest, support, or benefit.

Idiom:

on/in behalf of

1. As the agent of; on the part of.

2. For the benefit of; in the interest of.

[Middle English, from Old English be healfe, by (his) side : be, by, at; see by¹ + healf, side, half; see half.]

Usage Note: A traditional rule holds that in behalf of and on behalf of have distinct meanings. According to this rule, in behalf of means "for the benefit of," as in We raised money in behalf of the earthquake victims, while its counterpart on behalf of means "as the agent of, on the part of," as in The guardian signed the contract on behalf of the child. But as the two meanings are quite close, the phrases are often used interchangeably, even by reputable writers. Statistically, on behalf of is used far more frequently than in behalf of, and in fact the Usage Panel prefers on behalf of for both meanings. In our 2004 survey, 87 percent of the Panel preferred on behalf of in the sentence The lawyer spoke to the media (in behalf of/on behalf of) his client, conforming to the traditional rule for using on behalf of. But some 75 percent also preferred on behalf of in the sentence After sitting silently as one complaint after another was raised, he finally spoke up (in behalf of/on behalf of) his kid's coach, where the speaker is less of a spokesperson than an ad-hoc defender, and so the meaning "in defense of, for the benefit of" is a better fit, and the traditional rule therefore would require in behalf of. All this suggests that on behalf of may be generally supplanting in behalf of.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

behalf

(bɪˈhɑːf)

interest, part, benefit, or respect (only in the phrases on (someone's) behalf, on or US and Canadian in behalf of, in this (or that) behalf)

[Old English be halfe from be by + halfe side; compare Old Norse af halfu]

Usage: On behalf of is sometimes wrongly used where on the part of is intended. The distinction is that on behalf of someone means 'for someone's benefit' or 'representing someone', while on the part of someone can be roughly paraphrased as 'by someone'. So, the following example is incorrect: another act of apparent negligence, this time not on behalf of the company itself, but on behalf of its banker, when what was meant was there was negligence by the company's banker

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

be•half

(bɪˈhæf, -ˈhɑf)

n.

interest; support.

Idioms:

1. in or on behalf of, as a representative of or a proxy for.

2. in or on someone's behalf, in someone's interests.

[1400–50; late Middle English; Middle English bihalve]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun	1.	behalf - as the agent of or on someone's part (usually expressed as "on behalf of" rather than "in behalf of"); "the guardian signed the contract on behalf of the minor child"; "this letter is written on behalf of my client"; lieu, stead, place, position - the post or function properly or customarily occupied or served by another; "can you go in my stead?"; "took his place"; "in lieu of"
	2.	behalf - for someone's benefit (usually expressed as `in behalf' rather than `on behalf' and usually with a possessive); "in your behalf"; "campaigning in his own behalf"; "spoke a good word in his friend's behalf" sake, interest - a reason for wanting something done; "for your sake"; "died for the sake of his country"; "in the interest of safety"; "in the common interest"

behalf

noun

on something or someone's behalf or on behalf of something or someone

1. as a representative of, representing, in the name of, as a spokesperson for She made an emotional public appeal on her son's behalf. On behalf of my wife and myself, I'd like to thank you all.

2. for the benefit of, for the sake of, in support of, on the side of, in the interests of, on account of, for the good of, in defence of, to the advantage of, for the profit of The honour recognizes work done on behalf of classical theatre. The pupils were enthusiastic in their fund-raising efforts on the charity's behalf.

Usage: On behalf of is sometimes wrongly used as an alternative to on the part of. The distinction is that on behalf of someone means `for someone's benefit' or `representing someone', while on the part of someone can be roughly paraphrased as `by someone'.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

Translations

بِالنّيابَةِ عَن

jménemprove prospěch

zugunsten

soutien

í nafni e-s

di favore per per conto

kieno nors naudaikieno nors vardu

kāda vārdā

v imenu

adına

代表

behalf

[bɪˈhɑːf] N on or > in behalf of (US) → en nombre de, de parte de
a collection on behalf of orphans → una colecta en beneficio de los huérfanos, una colecta para los huérfanos
I interceded on his behalf → intercedí por él
don't worry on my behalf → no te preocupes por mí

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

behalf

[bɪˈhæf bɪˈhɑːf] n
on sb's behalf (British) in sb's behalf (US) (= for) → pour qn
I felt offended on her behalf → J'en étais offensé pour elle. (= as representative of) → au nom de qn
to accept sth on sb's behalf → accepter qch au nom de qn
to speak on sb's behalf → parler au nom de qn
to write on sb's behalf → écrire de la part de qn
to campaign on sb's behalf → mener une campagne pour qn
on behalf of (British) in behalf of (US) (= for) [+ person, organization] → pour (= as representative of) → au nom de
on behalf of my mother, I → au nom de ma mère, je ... (= as spokesperson for)
I approached him on behalf of the committee → Je l'ai contacté de la part du comité.

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

behalf

n on or in (US) behalf of → für, im Interesse von; (as spokesman) → im Namen von; (as authorized representative) → im Auftrag von; I’m not asking on my own behalf → ich bitte nicht für mich selbst or in meinem eigenen Interesse darum

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

behalf

[bɪˈhɑːf] n on behalf of or (Am) in behalf of (prep) → per conto di; (thank, accept) → a nome di
he spoke on my behalf → ha parlato a nome mio

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

behalf

(biˈhaːf) : on behalf of (someone)

for, or in the interests of. on behalf of all our members; I'm collecting on behalf of the blind.

behalf

n. en beneficio, a favor;

on your ___ → a su favor, por usted.

References in periodicals archive ?

"The great thing about a Police and Crime Commissioner is they can lobby on so many behalves," he said.

Call for funds as police take on mental health care role; EXTRA PRESSURE PILED ON FORCE

Paioff provides general counseling to the boards and managing agents of SSRGA's cooperative and condominium clients, and defends and prosecutes actions on their behalves concerning transient occupancy and subletting issues to alteration and property damage disputes with unit owners, tenants, sponsors, and neighboring buildings.

RISING STARS 2019

But as the resident's rally for Serge to seek justice on their behalves, two detectives are hot on the heels of Serge and Coleman's murderous trail.

No Sunscreen for the Dead

But this process taught me that it is not only my job alone as a survivor to be angry, but that it is okay for others to be angry on our behalves too.

MY STORY: RECLAIMING MY NARRATIVE--MY VOICE

In asking the question, 'From what does the echoist suffer?', the daseinsanalytic approach recognizes a specific type of suffering which results in a particular set of defences that lead such an individual to participate in potentially harmful relationships with narcissists, and at times to act as an agent on their behalves. If we can recognize this as the end result, it is necessary to find ways to understand such an individual's particular psychic suffering and, as I have done, to give a name to it in order that it can be better understood and not misdiagnosed, as it has so often been, as another form of narcissism.

Recognising Echoism As A Phenomenon In Existential Therapy: A Daseinsanalytic Hermeneutic Approach

"It was unsporting conduct with everyone watching around the world and I would like to take the opportunity to apologise on both our behalves. It was not how sportsmen should be.

Tyson Fury warns Deontay Wilder ahead of weigh-in as heavyweights face off for final time; Fury and Wilder almost came to blows after their press conference on Wednesday - and Fury wants no repeat

Managers should actively represent their employees' interests and speak on their behalves. Some employees may desire better work-life balance to devote more time to their families.

More Than a Manager: A Mentality to Ensure Enterprise Success

So when did we devolve into such a needy populace that expects political parties, the government apparatus, and a horde of multifaceted organizations to do our bidding on our behalves? And fulfill our increasingly vacuous needs?

A State of Charity

Heckmann and Liu are also pursuing counterclaims against Liu on their own behalves.

Counterclaim OK'd in case of squabbling shareholders

It's about time they stopped being offended on other people's behalves. Most people recognise when something is said a bit tongue in cheek.

Sugar comments tongue in cheek

Before the welfare state, charity embodied both a sense of gratitude on the behalf of the recipient and magnanimity on the behalves of donors.

Before and after welfare handouts

End goals for AFP's harassment and equity initiatives will also Include examples of best practices and procedures and assistance in lifting barriers to career furtherance, so as helping female fundraising professionals better negotiate on their own behalves, said Mahmoud.