noun
one quarter; one fourth
Historical unit of volume equal to one quarter of a shō (approximately 0.45 liters), or two and a half gō. Used in traditional contexts.
江戸時代、酒を小半で買うこともあった。
In the Edo period, people sometimes bought sake by the konakara (quarter shō).
noun
small amount of sake
Specifically refers to a small serving of sake, historically measured as one quarter of a shō. Now rare and mostly encountered in historical or literary contexts.
彼は小半の酒をちびちび飲んでいた。
He was sipping a small measure of sake.
From 小 (small) + 半 (half), referring to a small half of a shō. The reading こなから is a compound of こ (small) and なから (half).