Historical Examples. 1  hemi” means “half,” so each half of the globe is called a “hemisphere. 2  The whole is finally protected by a hemi 360spherical covering of moss, made into a sort of felt and lined with wax. 3  Fine fighters hemi Nape and his boys, were and well they bore themselves, but alas! Camp Fire Yarns of the Lost Legion G. Hamilton-Browne Kauaka hei a hemi taku pu, let not my gun be in the possession of hemi.