Demi vs moitié

Question

I've been reading through the lesson and discussion comments to try to understand some of the subtle differences.

In English, if I go to a bakery and ask for "half a baguette", I'm asking them to take a full-size baguette and cut it in half. If I want a small but uncut baguette, I'd have to ask for "a half-size baguette" or a "mini-baguette".

I think the comments are saying that in French, "une demi-baguette" can mean either an uncut half-size baguette or half of a full-size baguette. Is that correct?

Thanks!

Cécile Janty-Davies · Accepted Answer

Bonjour Andrew,
In a French boulangerie, if you were asking for une demi-baguette, you would be given half of a full-size one. Although I have been told that not all boulangeries agree to do this nowadays, whereas when I was young and living in France, it was totally normal. 
There are many more types of bread sizes and varieties available, which can vary from region to region, but the 'baguette' remains the quintessential loaf of bread, a symbol of French bread that accompanies all meals in a French household.
So une demi-baguette is a baguette cut in half.
Hope this helps!