Semiliquid

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Being in a state that is neither fully solid nor entirely liquid
2. Characterizing a material that has both viscous and mobile properties
3. Having a consistency that is intermediate between solid and liquid, possessing qualities of both

Etymology: The word is a simple combination: the Latin prefix "semi-", meaning "half", attached to "liquid". "Liquid" itself came into English from Old French "liquide", which descends from the Latin "liquidus", "flowing" or "clear", the same root that gave Latin "liquēre", "to be fluid." So the core of the term is ancient: a liquid is something that flows, and a semiliquid is something only half-way there. The prefix "semi-" follows the same logic. It was borrowed directly from Latin, where "sēmi-" meant "half," and it now appears freely on English words to mean "partly" or "half." Its Latin ancestry is visible in related borrowings such as "semicircle" and "semifinal," which are built the same way.