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harelip

[hair-lip]
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noun
  1. Usually Offensive. cleft lip.
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Origin of harelip

First recorded in 1560–70; hare + lip
Related formshare·lipped, adjective
Can be confusedharebrained harelip

Usage note

The term harelip is usually perceived as insulting because it compares the deformity in humans to the normal cleft lip of a hare. The accepted term for this medical condition is cleft lip.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for harelip

Historical Examples

  • "It is the Indian country," said Henry, and yet he pitied him of the harelip.

    The Border Watch

    Joseph A. Altsheler

  • Sure, Mrs. Madden is after having a young son, and it has a harelip.

  • They wanted you—to carry you off into the mountain with them, for a wife to their Prince Harelip.

  • Harelip rushed at them, caught up Lootie and sped with her to the hole.

  • While the queen and her party had encountered the men-at-arms, Harelip with another company had gone off to search the house.

British Dictionary definitions for harelip

harelip

noun
  1. a congenital cleft or fissure in the midline of the upper lip, resembling the cleft upper lip of a hare, often occurring with cleft palatePreferred form cleft lip
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Derived Formsharelipped, adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
harelip in Medicine

harelip

(hâr′lĭp′)
n.
  1. cleft lip
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.