Dictionary

hoary en · ADJ

Pronunciation

/hɔː.ɹi/ (UK)
(US) audio
/hɔɹ.i/ (US)

Etymology

Possibly from Middle English *hori (suggested by horilocket (“hoary-locked, having hoary locks or curls”)), equivalent to hoar + -y. Alternatively, Middle English horilocket may represent Middle English hor (“hoar, hoary”) + ilocket (“locked”) rather than hori (“hoary”) + locket (“locked”).

Meanings

White, whitish, or greyish-white.
- But hoary Winter, unadorn'd and bare, Dwells in the dire Retreat, and freezes there. 1718 [c. 28–103 CE], Joseph Addison, “Bolonia, Modena, Parma, Turin, &c.”, in Remarks on Several Parts of Italy, translation of Punica, book 3 by Silius Italicus:
- As hoary frost with spangles doth attire, The mossy braunches of an oke halfe ded, 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book I, Canto X”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, , stanzas 426–427:
White or grey with age.
- The old man bowed his hoary head in acquiescence.
- My first thought was, he lied in every word, That hoary cripple, with malicious eye Askance to watch the working of his lie On mine […] 1855, Robert Browning, “Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came”, stanza 1:
- And ever and anon a silent tear Stole down, and trickled from his hoary beard. 1681, John Dryden, The Spanish Fryar: Or, the Double Discovery. […], London: […] Richard Tonson and Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, (please specify the page number):
- And when hoary hairs shall their temples adorn, Like lambs they shall still in My bosom be borne. 1787, John Rippon, How Firm a Foundation, archived from the original on 11 Mar 2009:
Of a pale silvery grey.
Covered with short, dense, greyish white hairs.
(figuratively) Old or old-fashioned; trite.
- Nevertheless, the hoary capitalist principle of innovation and competition leading to consolidation and monopoly still operated. 2022, Gary Gerstle, chapter 5, in The Rise and Fall of the Neoliberal Order […] , New York: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, Part II. The Neoliberal Order, 1970–2020:
- In its God-like prime, The Simpsons attacked well-worn satirical fodder from unexpected angles, finding fresh laughs in the hoariest of subjects. 2012 June 3, Nathan Rabin, “TV: Review: THE SIMPSONS (CLASSIC): “Mr. Plow” (season 4, episode 9; originally aired 11/19/1992)”, in AV Club:
- It was, however, most interesting work, and the moulders themselves were a decent crowd, never tired of making jokes about themselves such as the hoary one that moulders did not live long, which however ran counter to the other one that no germs could live in a foundry—the atmosphere was too foul. 1944 November and December, A Former Pupil, “Some Memories of Crewe Works—II”, in Railway Magazine, page 342:
(obsolete) Remote in time past.
- Plant and animal species of hoary antiquity or at an evolutionary dead end seem similarly outdated. Remnant exemplars of the coelacanth, the tuatara, the Joshua tree are anachronisms more at home in previous than present environments. 1985, David Lowenthal, The Past is a Foreign Country, Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 242:
- The probability of these flattering fictions could no longer be examined, when the hoary antiquity of such traditions had gained them veneration. An adventure of ancient date was in blind after-ages too readily received as truth. 1805 [1758], Samuel Hull?, transl. Wilcocke, chapter 5, in An Essay on National Pride, Albion Press, translation of Vom Nationalstolz by Johann Georg Ritter von Zimmermann, →OCLC, page 40:
- Naturally, there are complications: some literatures are linguistically IE but geographically Near Eastern, and it is not always possible to tell a hoary theme of PIE antiquity from a more recent areal development. 2025 December 12, Tom Hercules Davies, “Horses, Wheels, Languages: Greek, Mesopotamian and Indic Epic on the Eurasian Steppe”, in The Classical Quarterly, volume 75, number 1, page 7:
(obsolete) Moldy; mossy; musty.
- By chance there was at that time brought out of the citie into the campe verie course, hoarie, moulded bread, which some of the souldiours hauing bought, and thrusting it vpon the points of their speares, shewed it vnto their fellowes in great choller, railing against king Ferdinand, which in his owne kingdome in the beginning of the warre had made no better prouision, but with such corrupt and pestilent bread to feed them being strangers, which were onely for his defence and quarrell to aduenture their liues. 1603, Richard Knolles, “The Life of Solyman, the Fourth and Most Magnificent Emperour of the Turkes”, in Generall Historie of the Turkes, page 624:

Forms

Spelling	Features	Labels	Source
hoarier	Degree=Cmp		lexicographic
hoariest	Degree=Sup		lexicographic

Translations (35)

lv sirms (white or gray with age) · cs šedivý (white or gray with age) · nl grijs (van ouderdom) (white or gray with age) · el γκρίζος (white or gray with age) · de uralt (white or gray with age) · cmn 灰白 (white or gray with age) · ltg sierms (white or gray with age) · hu deres (white or gray with age) · it canuto (white or gray with age) · bg побелял (white or gray with age) · ary شيبي (white or gray with age) · wa tchenou (white or gray with age) · ru седо́й (white or gray with age) · gl cano (white or gray with age) · fi harmaantunut (white or gray with age) · tr ağarmış (white or gray with age) · fr chenu (white or gray with age) · eo aĝe griza (white or gray with age) · de altersgrau (white or gray with age) · hy ալեզարդ (white or gray with age) · ru седовла́сый (white or gray with age) · hu ősz (white or gray with age) · es cano (white or gray with age) · ar أََشْيَب (white or gray with age) · bg посивял (white or gray with age) · de ergraut (white or gray with age) · oc canut (white or gray with age) · pt grisalho (white or gray with age) · uk си́вий (white or gray with age) · el γηραιός (white or gray with age) · la cānus (white or gray with age) · gl ruzo (white or gray with age) · ru убелённый седино́й (white or gray with age) · nl wit (white or gray with age) · ja 灰色の (white or gray with age)

hoary en · ADJ

Pronunciation

Etymology

Meanings

Forms

Deriveds

Hypernyms

Relateds

Synonyms

Translations (35)