haggard

WOTD – 7 September 2007    

English

Etymology

From Old French faulcon hagard (“wild falcon”) ( > French hagard (“dazed”)), from Middle High German hag (“coppice”) ( > archaic German Hag (“hedge, grove”)). Akin to Frankish hagia ( > French haie (“hedge”))

Pronunciation

• (US) enPR: hăg-ərd' IPA: /hæg.'ə(ɹ)d/

Adjective

haggard (comparative more haggard, superlative most haggard)

1. Looking exhausted and unwell, in poor condition
   • Dryden

     Staring his eyes, and haggard was his look.

2. Wild or untamed

   a haggard or refractory hawk

Derived terms

• haggardly
• haggardness

Translations

looking exhausted and unwell

• Chinese: 枯槁 (kūgǎo)
• Estonian: otsajäänud (et)
• Finnish: riutunut, voipunut, sairaalloisen näköinen, kalvakka
• French: hagard (fr) m
• German: abgespannt (de), ausgezehrt (de)
• Japanese: やつれた (ja) (yatsureta)
• Korean: 수척한 (sucheokhan)
• Rapa Nui: kavakava
• Romanian: epuizat (ro) m and n, istovit (ro) m and n, secătuit (ro), obosit (ro) m and n

• Russian: измождённый (ru) (izmoždjónnyj)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: оронуо (sh); бије̑дан (sh) (Ijekavian), бе̑дан (sh) (Ekavian)

  Roman: oronuo (sh); bijȇdan (sh) (Ijekavian), bȇdan (sh) (Ekavian)

• Spanish: consumido (es), macilento (es), trasojado (es)
• Swedish: härjad

wild or untamed

• Estonian: metsik (et)
• Finnish: hurja (fi)
• German: wild (de)
• Romanian: sălbatic (ro) m and n, nedomesticit (ro) m and n, neîmblânzit (ro) m and n

• Russian: неприручённый (ru) (nepriručjónnyj) m, дикий (ru) (díkij) m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: дѝвљӣ (sh)

  Roman: dìvljī (sh)

Noun

haggard (plural haggards)

1. (dialect, Manx, Ireland) A stackyard, an enclosure on a farm for stacking grain, hay, etc.

   "He tuk a slew [swerve] round the haggard" [1]

2. (falconry) A hunting bird captured as an adult.

   A "haggard" is a bird captured as an adult and therefore of unknown age; often, the law prohibits capturing birds of mating age. Falconry Pro

   • 1599, William Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing, Act 3 Scene 1

     No, truly, Ursula, she is too disdainful;

     I know her spirits are as coy and wild

     As haggards of the rock.

3. (falconry) A young or untrained hawk or falcon.
4. (obsolete) A fierce, intractable creature.
   • Shakespeare

     I have loved this proud disdainful haggard.

5. (obsolete) A hag.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Garth to this entry?)

References