Meaning
A pigmented filament of keratin which grows from a follicle on the skin of humans and other mammals.
Etymology
Origin: Old English
Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *hērą Proto-West Germanic *hār Old English hǣr Middle English her English hair From Middle English her, heer, hær, from Old English hǣr, from Proto-West Germanic *hār, from Proto-Germanic *hērą (“hair”), from Proto-Indo-European *kes- (“to scrape, comb”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Hier, Híer (“hair”), West Frisian hier (“hair”), Cimbrian haar, har (“hair”), Dutch haar (“hair”), German and Low German Haar (“hair”), Luxembourgish Hoer (“hair”), Mòcheno hor (“hair”), Yiddish האָר (hor, “hair”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish hår (“hair”), Faroese and Icelandic hár (“hair”). Eclipsed non-native Middle English cheveler, chevelere (“hair”), borrowed from Old French chevelëure (“hair, head-hair, coiffure, wig”). The modern spelling with ai is not a regular representation of the vowel developed from Middle English. Rather, it is from Middle English here (haircloth) influenced by Old French haire.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms
NYT Puzzle Appearances
Accepted in 16 recorded puzzles:
- 2026-03-13IARCHOT
- 2026-02-23HACGIPR
- 2026-02-15AGTRIPH
- 2025-11-16RALIGHT
- 2025-08-14IARDBHT
- 2025-07-06IARHCMT
- 2025-04-05HAODCIR
- 2024-10-22AUCTRIH
- 2024-07-20HACIORT
- 2024-02-10IARHCLV
- 2023-11-26IAGHLRT
- 2023-11-20ACGHIPR
+4 earlier appearances in the archive.