Definition of HAIR

hair

Plural: hairs

Noun

  • a covering for the body (or parts of it) consisting of a dense growth of threadlike structures (as on the human head); helps to prevent heat loss
    • "he combed his hair"
    • "each hair consists of layers of dead keratinized cells"
  • a very small distance or space
    • "they escaped by a hair's-breadth"
  • filamentous hairlike growth on a plant
  • any of the cylindrical filaments characteristically growing from the epidermis of a mammal
    • "there is a hair in my soup"
  • cloth woven from horsehair or camelhair; used for upholstery or stiffening in garments
  • a filamentous projection or process on an organism
  • A pigmented filament of keratin which grows from a follicle on the skin of humans and other mammals.
  • The collection or mass of such growths growing from the skin of humans and animals, and forming a covering for a part of the head or for any part or the whole body.
  • A slender outgrowth from the chitinous cuticle of insects, spiders, crustaceans, and other invertebrates. Such hairs are totally unlike those of vertebrates in structure, composition, and mode of growth.
  • A cellular outgrowth of the epidermis, consisting of one or of several cells, whether pointed, hooked, knobbed, or stellated.
  • Any slender, flexible outgrowth, filament, or fiber growing or projecting from the surface of an object or organism.
  • A locking spring or other safety device in the lock of a rifle, etc., capable of being released by a slight pressure on a hair-trigger.
  • Any very small distance, or degree; a hairbreadth.
  • Complexity; difficulty; the quality of being hairy.
  • pl. -S a threadlike growth

Verb

  • To remove the hair from.
  • To grow hair (where there was a bald spot).
  • To cause to have or bear hair; to provide with hair
  • To string the bow for a violin.

Examples

  • "In the western world, women usually have long hair while men usually have short hair."
  • "Internal hairs occur in the flower stalk of the yellow frog lily (Nuphar)."
  • "Just a little louder please—turn that knob a hair to the right."

Origin / Etymology

From Middle English her, heer, hær, from Old English hǣr, from Proto-West Germanic *hār, from Proto-Germanic *hērą (“hair”), from Proto-Indo-European *kes- (“to scrape, comb”).
Cognate with Saterland Frisian Hier (“hair”), West Frisian hier (“hair”), Dutch haar (“hair”), German and Low German Haar (“hair”), Swedish, Danish and Norwegian hår (“hair”), Icelandic hár (“hair”). Eclipsed non-native Middle English cheveler, chevelere (“hair”), borrowed from Old French chevelëure (“hair, head-hair, coiffure, wig”).
The modern spelling with ai is not a regular representation of the vowel developed from Middle English. Rather, it is from Middle English here (haircloth) influenced by Old French haire.

Synonyms

fuzz, hair's-breadth, haircloth, hairsbreadth, pilus, tomentum, whisker

Scrabble Score: 7

hair: valid Scrabble (US) TWL word
hair: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
hair: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 6

hair is a valid Words With Friends word