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hardy

Etymology and origin of the English word hardy

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
c. 1200
Borrowed from
Old French hardi via Middle English

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈhɑːdi/ (UK); /ˈhɑɹdi/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English hardi, borrowed from Old French hardi (“bold, brave; presumptuous”),[2][3][4] the past participle of hardir (“to harden, become bold”),[2][3][5] from Frankish *hardjan (“to make hard”),[3][2] compare Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐌷𐌰𐍂𐌳𐌾𐌰𐌽 (gahardjan) and Old High German herten,[2][3] from Proto-Germanic *harduz (see hard).[3][4] Its sense was influenced by English hard.[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Bold, daring, especially in battle: probably before 1200, in the Ancrene Riwle, in Barnhart, about 1200 in Etymonline;[2][3] earlier in a surname, Stonhardi (1194).[2] Presumptuously bold, audacious, is from before 1225.[6][3]

Semantic evolution

Strong and enduring is from about 1381,[6] or before 1398 in Barnhart,[2] and able to endure hardship and bad weather from 1548.[6][4] Of plants, able to grow outdoors all year round, it is from 1664 (the 1660s).[6][3] Hardihood is from 1634, in Milton's Comus.[2]

Timeline

  • 1194 – Stonhardi, a surname.[2]
  • c. 1200 – bold, daring.[3]
  • before 1398 – robust.[2]
  • 1548 – able to endure hardship.[6]
  • 1664 – of plants, hardy.[6]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Able to endure difficult conditions; robust, tough.
  2. Of plants, able to survive outdoors through the winter.
  3. Bold or courageous; sometimes rashly so.

Word family

  • hardily
  • hardiness
  • half-hardy
  • hardihood
  • overhardy
  • semihardy
  • winter-hardy

Usage notes

A hardy is also a square-shanked chisel that fits into a hole in an anvil.[7]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Hardy.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/hardy. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·