Main Entry: hair

Pronunciation: \ˈher\

Function: noun

Usage: often attributive

Etymology: Middle English, from Old English hǣr; akin to Old High German hār hair

Date: before 12th century

1 a : a slender threadlike outgrowth of the epidermis of an animal; especially : one of the usually pigmented filaments that form the characteristic coat of a mammal b : the hairy covering of an animal or a body part; especially : the coating of hairs on a human head
2 : haircloth
3 a : a minute distance or amount <won by a hair> b : a precise degree <aligned to a hair>
4 obsolete : nature, character
5 : a filamentous structure that resembles hair <leaf hair>

— hair·less adjective

— hair·less·ness noun

— hair·like \-ˌlīk\ adjective

— in one's hair : persistently and annoyingly in one's presence <can't work with you in my hair all day>

— out of one's hair : out of one's way : not in one's hair <keep the children out of his hair for a while>

[hair illustration]