hairy

English

Etymology

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.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈhɛə.ɹi/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈhɛɚ.i/

  • Audio (US)

    (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛəɹi

Adjective

hairy (comparative hairier, superlative hairiest)

1. (of a person) Having a lot of hair on the body.

   a hairy man

2. (of an animal) Having a lot of fur.

   hairy mammoth

3. (of a body part other than the head) Having hair growing from it.

   She is a great admirer of hairy chests.

4. (informal) Difficult, complex, intricate, or intimidating.

   It’s a hairy problem, and will probably take several weeks to sort out.

5. (informal) Causing anxiety or fright; terrifying, scary.

Synonyms

• (person): furry, hairful, hirsute
• (animal): furry
• (body part): furry, hirsute

Antonyms

• bald
• hairless

Derived terms

• Andean hairy armadillo
• big hairy armadillo
• black hairy tongue syndrome
• hairily
• hairiness
• hairy-eared dwarf lemur
• hairy-soled conyrat
• hairy armadillo
• hairy ball theorem
• hairy canary
• hairy cell
• hairy click beetle
• hairy eyeball
• hairy frog
• hairy hedgehog
• hairy leukoplakia
• hairy molly
• hairy nightshade
• hairy panic
• hairy spider orchid
• northern hairy-nosed wombat
• screaming hairy armadillo
• Shanghai hairy crab
• southern hairy-nosed wombat

 

Translations

of a person

• Arabic: مشعر‎
• Armenian: մազոտ (hy) (mazot)
• Aromanian: piros
• Belarusian: валаса́ты (valasáty)
• Bulgarian: космат (bg) (kosmat)
• Catalan: pelut (ca), pilós
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 毛茸茸的 (zh) (máoróngrōng de), 多毛的 (zh) (duōmáo de), 長毛的／长毛的 (zh) (zhǎngmáo de)

• Danish: håret, behåret
• Dutch: harig (nl), behaard (nl)
• Estonian: karvane (et)
• Finnish: karvainen (fi)
• French: poilu (fr)
• Friulian: pelôs
• Georgian: თმიანი (tmiani)
• German: behaart (de), haarig (de)
• Greek:

  Ancient: δασύς (dasús), πολύτριχος (polútrikhos), βλοσυρός (blosurós)

• Hebrew: שעיר‎ (he)
• Hungarian: szőrös (hu)
• Irish: ^{(please verify)} clúmhach
• Italian: peloso (it)
• Japanese: 毛深い (けぶかい, kebukai), 毛むくじゃらの (kemukujara no)
• Latin: pilōsus, villōsus
• Latvian: matains, spalvains
• Macedonian: вла́кнест (vláknest), ко́смат (kósmat), ко́смест (kósmest)
• Maltese: muswaf
• Maori: pūhuruhuru, tuahuru
• Norman: pouailu
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: behåret, behåra, håret, hårete

• Occitan: pelut (oc)
• Old English: rūh
• Persian: پرمو‎ (fa) (pormu)
• Plautdietsch: hoarich
• Polish: włochaty (pl), owłosiony (pl)
• Portuguese: peludo
• Romanian: păros (ro)
• Russian: волоса́тый (ru) (volosátyj)
• Sardinian: pilosu, pirosu
• Scottish Gaelic: molach
• Serbo-Croatian: dlakav (sh)
• Slovak: vlasatý
• South Efate: ululu
• Spanish: peludo (es), velludo (es)
• Swedish: hårig (sv)
• Tibetan: སྤུ་མང་པོ (spu mang po)
• Turkish: kıllı (tr)
• Ukrainian: волоха́тий (voloxátyj), волоса́тий (volosátyj)
• Welsh: blewog (cy)
• Yiddish: האָריק‎ (horik)

of an animal

• Armenian: թավամազ (hy) (tʿavamaz), բրդոտ (hy) (brdot)
• Bulgarian: космат (bg) (kosmat)
• Danish: lodden
• Dutch: harig (nl)
• Estonian: karvane (et)
• Finnish: karvainen (fi)
• German: pelzartig
• Greek:

  Ancient: δασύς (dasús), πολύτριχος (polútrikhos)

• Hungarian: szőrös (hu)
• Irish: ^{(please verify)} clúmhach
• Latin: pilōsus, hispidus
• Latvian: spalvains
• Macedonian: вла́кнест (vláknest), ко́смат (kósmat), ко́смест (kósmest)
• Marathi: केसाळ (mr) (kesāḷ)
• Polish: włochaty (pl)
• Portuguese: peludo
• Russian: мохна́тый (ru) (moxnátyj)
• Scottish Gaelic: molach
• Slovak: chlpatý
• Spanish: peludo (es), velludo (es), lanudo (es)
• Swedish: hårig (sv)
• Turkish: kürklü (tr), postlu (tr)

of a body part other than the head

• Arabic: مُشَعَّر‎ (mušaʕʕar)
• Bulgarian: окосмен (bg) (okosmen)
• Danish: håret, behåret
• Dutch: harig (nl), behaard (nl)
• Estonian: karvane (et)
• Finnish: karvainen (fi)
• French: poilu (fr)
• German: behaart (de), haarig (de)
• Hebrew: שעיר‎ (he)
• Hungarian: szőrös (hu)
• Irish: ^{(please verify)} clúmhach
• Italian: peloso (it)
• Latin: pilosus
• Latvian: spalvains, matains
• Macedonian: вла́кнест (vláknest), ко́смат (kósmat), ко́смест (kósmest)
• Norman: pouailu
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: behåret, behåra, håret, hårete

• Polish: zarośnięty, owłosiony (pl)
• Portuguese: peludo
• Russian: волоса́тый (ru) (volosátyj)
• Slovak: chlpatý
• Spanish: peludo (es), velludo (es)
• Swedish: hårig (sv)
• Turkish: kıllı (tr)

difficult, complex, intricate, or intimidating

• Polish: ryzykowny (pl), trudny (pl)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Isthmus Zapotec: ^{(please verify)} naraxi
• Yucatec Maya: ^{(please verify)} tso'otsil

See also

• dasypygal

Anagrams

• Yahir