DCHP-2

semi DCHP-2 (November 2016)

• n. — Housing

  an abbreviation for semi-detached house, a house that shares a wall with one other house; a duplex.

  Semi is prevalent in Irish English, and British attestations of the term date back to the early 20th century (see OED-3, s.v. "semi" [1]), which lists a first attestation (to date) from 1912 in the UK. Semi continues to have currency in Ireland, where it is possibly a preservation from UK English. It is comparatively infrequent in Canada and in the United States (see Chart 1), and quotations are difficult to find in Canadian sources.
  See also COD-2, s.v. "semi," (1) which is marked "Cdn & Brit."

  See also: duplex  

  • While semi-detached does occur as a term, the dominant Canadian word for this Irish English and UK term is duplex (see Chart 1).