harsh English · revision 7362

+ {{infobox|confidence=uncertain|formation=borrowing|attested=before 1300}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈhɑːʃ/ ''(UK)''; /ˈhɑɹʃ/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is probably from Middle English harske, rough, coarse, sour, a northern word of Scandinavian origin, compare Danish and Norwegian [[m|da|harsk|t=rancid, rank]];^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) Hoad, NODE and SOED derive it instead from Middle Low German [[m|gml|harsch|t=rough, raw]], literally hairy, from haer, [[hair]].^(Hoad 1986)^(NODE 1998)^(SOED 2002) Etymonline relates it perhaps to PIE [[ine-pro|*kars-|t=to scrape, scratch]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Disagreeably rough to the touch: before 1300 in the OED;^(OED 1989) harskly, roughly, about 1300, and harrish, bitter, 1533 in Barnhart.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Rough to the taste is from about 1440, and rough to the ear, jarring, from 1530.^(OED 1989) Of actions and systems, severe or cruel, it is from 1579–80, and offensive to the feelings from the 1570s.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) Disagreeable or rude is from the 1610s.^(Etymonline) Of rough aspect, unpleasing to the eye, is from 1774.^(OED 1989) A verb, to sound harshly, is from the 1580s,^(Etymonline) and to make harsh or subject to harshness by 1991.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1300 – harskly.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * before 1300 – rough to the touch.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1530 – jarring to the ear.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1570s – offensive to the feelings.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1610s – rude.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Unpleasantly rough or jarring to the senses.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Cruel or severe: ''harsh treatment''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Of conditions, difficult to survive in.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Stern or unkind: ''harsh words''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[harshly]]

+ * [[harshness]]

+ * [[harshen]]

+ * [[overharsh]]

+ * [[unharsh]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[hair]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}