hoarse
[hawrs, hohrs]
- having a vocal tone characterized by weakness of intensity and excessive breathiness; husky: the hoarse voice of the auctioneer.
- having a raucous voice.
- making a harsh, low sound.
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Origin of hoarse
1350–1400; Middle English hors < Old Norse *hārs (assumed variant of hāss); replacing Middle English hoos, Old English hās, cognate with Old High German heis, Old Saxon hēs
Synonyms
See more synonyms for hoarse on Thesaurus.com1. harsh, grating; throaty, rough.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
hoarse
- gratingly harsh or raucous in tone
- low, harsh, and lacking in intensitya hoarse whisper
- having a husky voice, as through illness, shouting, etc
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Word Origin
C14: of Scandinavian origin; related to Old Norse hās, Old Saxon hēs
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for hoarse
adj.
late 14c., hors, earlier hos, from Old English has "hoarse," from Proto-Germanic *haisa- (cf. Old Saxon hes, Old Norse hass, Dutch hees, Old High German heisi, German heiser "hoarse"), perhaps originally meaning "dried out, rough." The -r- is difficult to explain; it is first attested c.1400, but it may indicate an unrecorded Old English variant *hars. Related: Hoarsely; hoarseness.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
hoarse
(hôrs)- Rough or grating in sound, as of a voice.
- Having or characterized by a husky, grating voice.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.