hart English · revision 10397

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 725|origins=gem-pro *herutaz|origins=ine-pro *ker-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /hɑːt/ ''(UK)''; /hɑɹt/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English hert, [[inh|ang|heorot|t=hart, stag, male of the red deer]], heort,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from Proto-Germanic *herutaz, probably literally a horned beast,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) source also of Dutch hert, German [[m|de|Hirsch]] and Old Norse hjǫrtr,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) from PIE *keru-, an extended form of *ker-, horn, head (see [[horn]]),^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) as in Latin cervus, stag, and Welsh carw.^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The male of the deer, especially of the red deer: about 725, in ''Beowulf'' in Barnhart; about 825 in the OED.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The spelling hart is from 1410.^(Barnhart 1988) In later use a hart was a male deer after its fifth year, when the crown antler has appeared.^(Etymonline)^(AHD)^(Collins 2023) A ''hart of grease'' was a fat hart, and a ''hart of ten'' one with ten points, from about 1380.^(OED 1989) For the change of vowel, compare [[marsh]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 725 – heorot, a stag.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1380 – hart of ten.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1410 – the spelling hart.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A male [[deer]], especially a male red deer over five years old; a [[stag]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[hartshorn]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[hind]]

+ * [[stag]]

+ * [[horn]]

+ * [[cervine]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ In northern English dialect, hart-berries were bilberries.^(Wright 1898)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}