ENGLISH
REFERENCE

hair

n. C / U
A1 Beginner Oxford US //ˈhɛɹ// UK //hˈeə// hair General-service Slang

n. the thin strands that grow from the skin of people and animals. It covers your head and can also be on other parts of your body.

n. the fine, threadlike strands growing from the skin of mammals. It can refer to a single strand or to the mass of strands on the head.


SIMPLE

She has long, brown hair.

CONTEXTUAL

He goes to the barber every month to get his hair cut.

COMPLEX

The morning light caught the fine golden hairs on her arm, making them glow against her skin.

Synonyms
Origin

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, Híer (“hair”), West Frisian hier (“hair”), Cimbrian haar, har (“hair”), Dutch haar (“hair”), German and Low German Haar (“hair”), Luxembourgish Hoer (“hair”), Mòcheno hor (“hair”), Yiddish האָר (hor, “hair”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk and Swedish hår (“hair”), Faroese and 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.

Usage

Uncountable when referring to the mass of hair on the head; countable when referring to individual strands.

Pitfall

She has beautiful hairs.She has beautiful hair.Use the uncountable form 'hair' to talk about the mass of hair on someone's head. The plural 'hairs' refers to individual strands.

Idioms17 entries

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