hoar
[hawr, hohr]
- hoarfrost; rime.
- a hoary coating or appearance.
Show More
Show More
Origin of hoar
before 900; Middle English hor, Old English hār; cognate with Old Norse hārr gray with age, Old Frisian hēr gray, Old High German hēr old (German hehr august, sublime)
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for hoar
Historical Examples
At Amherst a large gathering of students listened to Senator Hoar.
How eagerly I now would pierce The gulf that groweth wild and hoar!
Enamels and Cameos and other PoemsThophile Gautier
"All right, all right—not at all—not at all—" He ran on, joining the hoar and shouting wave.
The Long RollMary Johnston
He did this in common with all the world, including Hoar himself.
The Education of Henry AdamsHenry Adams
Among others they quarrelled with Hoar, and drove him from office.
The Education of Henry AdamsHenry Adams
hoar
- short for hoarfrost
Show More
- rare covered with hoarfrost
- archaic a poetic variant of hoary
Show More
Word Origin
Old English hār; related to Old Norse hārr, Old High German hēr, Old Slavonic sěrǔ grey
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
Word Origin and History for hoar
adj.
Old English har "hoary, gray, venerable, old," the connecting notion being gray hair, from Proto-Germanic *haira (cf. Old Norse harr "gray-haired, old," Old Saxon, Old High German her "distinguished, noble, glorious," German hehr), from PIE *kei-, source of color adjectives (see hue (n.1)). German also uses the word as a title of respect, in Herr. Of frost, it is recorded in Old English, perhaps expressing the resemblance of the white feathers of frost to an old man's beard. Used as an attribute of boundary stones in Anglo-Saxon, perhaps in reference to being gray with lichens, hence its appearance in place-names.
Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper