Word of the Day

: December 12, 2007

harry

verb HAIR-ee

What It Means

1 : to make a pillaging or destructive raid on : assault

2 : to force to move along by harassing

3 : to torment by or as if by constant attack

harry in Context

Seven-year-old Kaitlyn harried her little sister with pokes, hair pulling, and teasing, badgering her until she burst into tears.

Did You Know?

Was there once a warlike man named Harry who is the source for today's word? One particularly belligerent Harry does come to mind: Shakespeare once described how "famine, sword, and fire" accompanied "the warlike Harry," England's King Henry the Fifth. But neither this king nor any of his namesakes are the source for the verb "harry." Rather, "harry" (or a word resembling it) has been a part of English for as long as there has been anything that could be called English. It took the form "hergian" in Old English and "harien" in Middle English, passing through numerous variations before finally settling into its modern spelling. The word's Old English ancestors are related to Old High German words "heriōn" ("to lay waste") and "heri" ("army").

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.