hoar

hoar
\ \ [OE] Hoar now survives mainly in hoary, a disparaging term for ‘old’, and hoarfrost, literally ‘white frost’. Between them, they encapsulate the meaning of hoar – ‘greyishwhite haired with age’. But it is the colour that is historically primary, not the age. The word goes back to an Indo-European *koi-, whose other descendants include German heiter ‘bright’ and Russian ser’iy ‘grey’. Another Germanic offshoot was *khairaz – but here the association between ‘grey hair’ and ‘age, venerability’ began to cloud the issue. For while English took the word purely as a colour term, German and Dutch have turned it into a title of respect, originally for an elderly man, now for any man: herr and mijnheer respectively.
\ \ Cf.⇒ HARE, HERRING

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • Hoar — Hoar, a. [OE. hor, har, AS. h[=a]r; akin to Icel. h[=a]rr, and to OHG. h[=e]r illustrious, magnificent; cf. Icel. Hei[eth] brightness of the sky, Goth. hais torch, Skr. k[=e]tus light, torch. Cf. {Hoary}.] 1. White, or grayish white; as, hoar… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Hoar — ist der Familienname folgender Personen: Ebenezer R. Hoar (1816–1895), US amerikanischer Politiker und Justizminister Joseph P. Hoar (* 1934), General des US Marine Corps; Kommandeur des US Central Command Melissa Hoar (* 1983), australische… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Hoar — Hoar, n. Hoariness; antiquity. [R.] [1913 Webster] Covered with the awful hoar of innumerable ages. Burke. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • hoar — hoar·i·ly; hoar·i·ness; hoar; …   English syllables

  • hoar|y — «HR ee, HOHR », adjective, hoar|i|er, hoar|i|est. 1. old; ancient: »the hoary ruins of a castle. According to the hoary rules of American politics, any strong presidential candidate can pick his running …   Useful english dictionary

  • Hoar — Hoar, v. t. [AS. h[=a]rian to grow gray.] To become moldy or musty. [Obs.] Shak. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • hoar — archaic or literary ► ADJECTIVE ▪ grey or grey haired. ► NOUN ▪ hoar frost. ORIGIN Old English …   English terms dictionary

  • hoar — (adj.) O.E. har hoary, gray, venerable, old, the connecting notion being gray hair, from P.Gmc. *haira (Cf. O.N. harr gray haired, old, O.S., O.H.G. her distinguished, noble, glorious, Ger. hehr), from PIE *kei , source of color adjectives (see… …   Etymology dictionary

  • hoar — [hôr] adj. [ME hore < OE har, akin to Ger hehr, venerable < IE base * k̑ei , term for dark colors, gray, brown > HUE1, ON harr, gray, old, Pol szary, gray] 1. HOARY 2. Obs. moldy; stale n. 1. HOARINESS …   English World dictionary

  • Hoar — in universe subject = a described object = a fictional deity category = context Forgotten Realms Deity|fgcolor=#fff bgcolor=#000 fgcolor=#fff name=Hoar title=The Doombringer Lord of Three Thunders home=Barrens of Doom and Despair power=Demipower… …   Wikipedia

  • Hoar — Divinité des Royaumes Oubliés Hoar Titre Celui qui amène le Destin, le Seigneur des Trois Tonnerres. Niveau de puissance Demi puissance Alignement Loyal Neutre Portfolio Revanche, Châtiments Domaines Terres du Destin et du Désespoir Hoar est un… …   Wikipédia en Français

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