harry
pronunciation
How to pronounce harry in British English:
UK [ˈhæri]
How to pronounce harry in American English:
US [ˈhæri]
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- Verb:
- annoy continually or chronically
- make a pillaging or destructive raid on (a place), as in wartimes
Word Origin
- harry
- harry: [OE] Etymologically, to harry is to ‘go on a raid as an army does’. The word comes ultimately from prehistoric Germanic *kharjaz, which meant ‘crowd of people’ and also ‘army’ (it also produced English harangue, harbinger, harbour, and harness). From it was formed the verb *kharōjan, which passed into Old English as hergian. This developed into modern English harry, and it also produced the verb harrow ‘rob, plunder’, now obsolete except in the expression harrowing of hell (which denotes the rescuing by Christ, after his crucifixion, of the souls of the righteous held in captivity in hell).=> harangue, harbinger, harbour, harness, harrow
- harry (v.)
- Old English hergian "make war, lay waste, ravage, plunder," the word used in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for what the Vikings did to England, from Proto-Germanic *harjon (cognates: Old Frisian urheria "lay waste, ravage, plunder," Old Norse herja "to make a raid, to plunder," Old Saxon and Old High German herion, German verheeren "to destroy, lay waste, devastate"). This is literally "to overrun with an army," from Proto-Germanic *harjaz "an armed force" (cognates: Old English here, Old Norse herr "crowd, great number; army, troop," Old Saxon and Old Frisian heri, Dutch heir, Old High German har, German Heer, Gothic harjis "a host, army"). The Germanic words come from PIE root *koro- "war" also "war-band, host, army" (cognates: Lithuanian karas "war, quarrel," karias "host, army;" Old Church Slavonic kara "strife;" Middle Irish cuire "troop;" Old Persian kara "host, people, army;" Greek koiranos "ruler, leader, commander"). Weakened sense of "worry, goad, harass" is from c. 1400. Related: Harried; harrying.
- Harry
- masc. proper name, a familiar form of Henry. Weekley takes the overwhelming number of Harris and Harrison surnames as evidence that "Harry," not "Henry," was the Middle English pronunciation of Henry. Compare Harriet, English equivalent of French Henriette, fem. diminutive of Henri.
Example
- 1. Harry looks blank . There is an awkward pause .
- 2. Kids can 't get enough harry potter ?
- 3. He 's talking to his friend , harry .
- 4. Why did you choose harry truman to best illustrate this point ?
- 5. Are you ready to step into harry potter 's world again ?