halfback

[ haf-bak, hahf- ]

/ ˈhæfˌbæk, ˈhɑf- /

Football.

(in soccer, Rugby, field hockey, etc.) a player stationed near the forward line to carry out chiefly offensive duties.

Origin of halfback

First recorded in 1880–85; half + back¹

Tom had just obliterated a 150-pound halfback, who had lost the ball, the use of his legs and his Varsity aspirations altogether.

Football Days |William H. Edwards
He suffers like an All-America halfback playing on a scrub team.

Pieces of Hate |Heywood Broun
The game brought out Jimmie Craig in the new rôle of halfback and assured him a permanent berth behind the line.

Practical English Composition: Book II. |Edwin L. Miller
Down the field a Princeton halfback had caught the ball and was squirming back.

Stover at Yale |Owen Johnson

Berriman, their halfback, bowled over Chamberlain for a gain of four yards.

Bert Wilson on the Gridiron |J. W. Duffield

halfback

/ (ˈhɑːfˌbæk) /

rugby either the scrum half or the stand-off half

soccer old-fashioned any of three players positioned behind the line of forwards and in front of the fullbacks

any of certain similar players in other team sports

the position of a player who is halfback