hairy

English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

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[edit]

IPA^(key): /ˈhɛɚ.i/
Audio (US) (file)
Rhymes: -ɛəɹi

Adjective[edit]

hairy (comparative hairier, superlative hairiest)

(of a person) Having a lot of hair on the body.
a hairy man
(of an animal) Having a lot of fur.
hairy mammoth
(of a body part other than the head) Having hair growing from it.
She is a great admirer of hairy chests.
(informal) Difficult, complex, intricate, or intimidating.
It’s a hairy problem, and will probably take several weeks to sort out.
(informal) Causing anxiety or fright; terrifying, scary.

Synonyms[edit]

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

Antonyms[edit]

Derived terms[edit]

Translations[edit]

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 (zh), 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: влакнест (vlaknest)
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
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: влакнест (vlaknest)
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 (mušaʿʿar)
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: влакнест (vlaknest)
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

Anagrams[edit]

Yahir