Word of the Day : June 17, 2021

harry \HAIR-ee\ verb

Definition

1 : to make a pillaging or destructive raid on : assault

2 : to force to move along by harassing

3 : to torment by or as if by constant attack

Did You Know?

Was there once a warlike man named Harry who is the source for the English verb the name mirrors? One particularly belligerent Harry does come to mind: William Shakespeare once described how "famine, sword, and fire" accompanied "the warlike Harry," England's King Henry the Fifth. But neither this king nor any of his namesakes are the source for the verb harry. Rather, harry (or a word resembling it) has been a part of English for as long as there has been anything that could be called English. It took the form hergian in Old English and harien in Middle English, passing through numerous variations before finally settling into its modern spelling. The word's Old English ancestors are related to Old High German words heriōn ("to devastate or plunder") and heri ("host, army").

Aired June 17, 2021

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