hair English · revision 2593

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 800|origins=gem-pro *hēran}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /heə/, US /her/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|her]], [[inh|ang|hǣr]], also hēr,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(AHD 2000) from [[gem-pro|*hēran]],^(Etymonline) the source also of Old Saxon and Old High German [[m|goh|hār]], Old Norse [[m|non|hár]], Old Frisian [[m|ofs|hēr]], and Dutch and German haar.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(SOED 2002) Etymonline suggests PIE [[ine-pro|*ghers-|t=to bristle, stand out]], comparing Lithuanian [[m|lt|šerys|t=bristle]],^(Etymonline)^(Klein 1966) but Hoad calls the Germanic word of unknown origin.^(Hoad 1986) The spelling and pronunciation were influenced by Old Norse hár and by Middle English haire “haircloth”,^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from Old French haire, of Frankish origin.^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A single hair: about 800;^(OED 1989) the aggregate of hairs on the head or body from about 1000.^(OED 1989) Barnhart dates the Old English hēr to about 800 and hǣr to about 1000.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Figurative uses, for the rays of the sun or the tail of a comet, are from 1594,^(OED 1989) and the outgrowths of plants from 1631.^(OED 1989) ''Hair of the dog (that bit you)'', a drink as a remedy for a hangover, is in English from the 1540s and goes back to Pliny.^(Etymonline) ''Not to turn a hair'' was first used, in the early 19th century, of horses that did not sweat.^(Cresswell 2021) ''To let one's hair down'', “to become familiar”, is first recorded in 1850,^(Etymonline) and ''hair-dye'' is from 1803.^(Etymonline) A ''bad hair day'' is from the 1980s.^(Cresswell 2021) The verb, now rare, was used from 1539.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 800 – a single hair.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1000 – the hair of the head.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1540s – ''hair of the dog''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1594 – figurative uses.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1631 – plant hairs.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1803 – ''hair-dye''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1850 – ''let one's hair down''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1980s – ''bad hair day''.^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # One of the fine threadlike strands that grow from the skin of [[mammal|alt=mammals]].^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # A mass of such strands, as on a person's head or an animal's coat.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # A fine threadlike growth on a plant.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # A very small amount or distance: ''won by a hair''.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[hairless]]

+ * [[hairlessness]]

+ * [[hairlike]]

+ * [[fair-haired]]

+ * [[hair-raising]]

+ * [[white-haired]]

+ * [[wirehaired]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[haircloth]]

+ * [[horror]]

+ * [[hairy]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Hoad notes that the present spelling and pronunciation are abnormal: the expected form would be ''here'' or ''hear''.^(Hoad 1986) In Scots ''hair'' is also a name for the last handful of corn cut at harvest.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}