Link Centre Dictionary

hairy

UK/ˈhɛə.ɹi/ US/ˈhɛɹ.i/ fairly common informal slang

adjective

1.

having or covered with hair

  • “Jacob was a hairy man”
  • “a hairy caterpillar”
Synonyms
Antonyms
Similar
2.

hazardous and frightening

  • “hairy moments in the mountains”
Similar

Origin

From Middle English hery, heeri, hary, equivalent to hair + -y. Compare Saterland Frisian hierich (“hairy”), West Frisian hierrich (“hairy”), Dutch harig (“hairy”), German Low German harig (“hairy”), German haarig (“hairy”), Swedish hårig (“hairy”), Icelandic hárugur (“hairy”). Compare also Old English hǣriht (“hairy”) and ġehǣre (“hairy”). The sense "terrifying, scary" possibly results from a blend of hair-raising and scary.

Phrases

  • Andean hairy armadillo
  • big hairy armadillo
  • big hairy deal
  • big, fat, hairy deal
  • black hairy tongue syndrome
  • hairy arm
  • hairy armadillo
  • hairy balls

Related words

Word family

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.