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hairy

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Etymology and origin of the English word hairy

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 1350
From
Middle English heri

Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˈhɛə.ɹi/[1]
  • US: /ˈhɛɹ.i/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English heri, formed from her (“hair”);[2][3] that is, hair and -y.[4][5][6] There were also native adjectives meaning hairy, Old English hǣriht and hǣre.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Covered with hair, rough or shaggy: c. 1350, in a French–English glossary;[2] Etymonline dates it to the early 14th century, and the OED's first quotation is from the Cursor Mundi (before 1400).[5][4]

Semantic evolution

From 1535, in Coverdale's Bible, it also meant made of hair or like hair.[4] From 1597, in Gerard's Herball, botanists used it of leaves and stems with fine soft hairs.[4] Slang has given it several senses: in 1848 Arthur Hugh Clough used it for "difficult", a usage that Farmer called Oxford slang;[4][5] by the 20th century it meant frightening or dangerous, as in a hairy ride.[4][7][8] Hairy about the heels, ill-bred, is from 1890,[4] and hairy alone for angry or excited from 1914, in Joyce's Dubliners.[4][8] As a noun, army slang used hairy for a heavy artillery horse, from its hairy fetlocks (1899).[4][3]

Timeline

  • c. 1350 – covered with hair.[2]
  • 1535 – made of hair; hair-like.[4]
  • 1597 – (botany) covered with fine soft hairs.[4]
  • 1848 – (slang) difficult.[4][5]
  • 1890 – hairy about the heels, ill-bred.[4]
  • 1899 – the noun, a heavy draught horse.[4]
  • 1914 – excited, angry.[4]
  • 1951 – difficult, in Green's earliest American example.[8]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Covered with a lot of hair.
  2. Made of or like hair.
  3. (botany) Covered with fine, soft hairs.
  4. (informal) dangerous, frightening or difficult: The landing in the storm was pretty hairy.

Word family

  • hairiness
  • unhairy
  • hairy vetch
  • hairy woodpecker
  • hirsute
  • hair-raising

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
  3. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  8. ^ a b c Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
Cite this entry

“Hairy.” Etymologically, 22 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/hairy. Accessed 23 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·