"a stop, a halting," 1590s, from French halte (16c.) or Italian alto, ultimately from German Halt, imperative from Old High German halten "to hold" (see hold (v.)). A German military command borrowed into the Romanic languages 16c.

"lame," in Old English lemphalt "limping," from Proto-Germanic *haltaz (source also of Old Saxon, Old Frisian halt, Old Norse haltr, Old High German halz, Gothic halts "lame"), from PIE *keld-, from root *kel- (1) "to strike, cut," with derivatives meaning "something broken or cut off" (source also of Russian koldyka "lame," Greek kolobos "broken, curtailed"). The noun meaning "one who limps; the lame collectively" is from c. 1200.

"to walk unsteadily, move with a limping gait," early 14c., from Old English haltian (Anglian), healtian (West Saxon), "to limp, be lame; to hesitate," from Proto-Germanic *halton (source also of Old Saxon halton, Middle Dutch halten, Old High German halzen), derivative verb from the source of halt (adj.). Figurative use from early 15c. Related: Halted; halting.

"make a halt," 1650s, from halt (n.). As a command word, attested from 1796. Related: Halted; halting.

"act of limping or walking lamely," late 14c., earlier haltinde (early 14c.), verbal noun from halt (v.2). Related: Haltingly.

c. 1300, reinen, "tie (a horse), tether," a sense now obsolete, from rein (n.). From early 15c. as "to pull on the bridle with the reins," to restrain or guide the horse, hence the figurative extension to "put a check on, restrain, control," recorded by 1580s. Related: Reined; reining. To rein up "halt" (1550s) is an image of pulling up on the reins to make a horse halt or back.

"inn," 1763, from Spanish posada "home, lodging," from posar "to repose, rest, lodge," from Medieval Latin pausare "to halt, cease, pause; to lodge," from pausa (see pause (n.)).

"make a temporary stop or intermission," 1520s, from pause (n.) and from French pauser, from Late Latin pausare "to halt, cease, pause," ultimately from Late Latin pausa. Related: Paused; pausing.

1650s, "a show of bravado," also "an orderly assembly of troops for inspections," from French parade "display, show, military parade," formerly also "a halt on horseback" (15c.), or from Italian parate "a warding or defending, a garish setting forth," or Spanish parada "a staying or stopping; a parade," all from Vulgar Latin *parata, from Latin parare "arrange, prepare, adorn" (from PIE root *pere- (1) "to produce, procure").

The Latin word developed widespread senses in Medieval Latin: "to stop, halt; prevent, guard against; dress, trim, adorn." These were passed on to its Romanic offspring. The verb is a doublet of parry. Non-military sense of "public walk, march, procession" is recorded from 1670s. Parade-ground is by 1724; parade-rest is by 1888:

[A] position of rest in which the soldier stands silent and motionless, but which is less fatiguing than the position of "attention": it is much used during parades. [Century Dictionary]

in law, "to bar, prevent, preclude," 1530s, from Anglo-French estopper "to stop, bar, hinder" (especially in a legal sense, by one's own prior act or declaration), from Old French estoper "plug, stop up, block; prevent, halt" (also in obscene usage), from estope "tow, oakum," from Latin stuppa "tow" (used as a plug); see stop (v.).