harry

verb

har·ry ˈher-ē How to pronounce harry (audio)

ˈha-rē

harried; harrying

transitive verb

: to make a pillaging or destructive raid on : assault

: to force to move along by harassing

harrying the terrified horses down out of the mountains

R. A. Sokolov

: 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").

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web Ukraine’s military command said its troops continued to harry the forces that Russia has been massing for a full-scale assault on the Donbas region, the industrial heartland where Moscow already holds sway.

Los Angeles Times, 22 Apr. 2022 The fighters had divided into teams to target strategic points within the prison, while others were sent to harry a nearby battalion of Kurdish fighters and block off routes to the complex.

NBC News, 24 Jan. 2022 Indiana pounded the paint early, bossed Michigan State on the boards and harried every screen.

Zach Osterman, Indianapolis Star, 24 Jan. 2020 Rebel groups had continued to harry government forces, however, from outside the city with mortar rounds.

Sarah El Deeb, BostonGlobe.com, 16 Feb. 2020 Before that pass, the 49ers harried Mahomes as few teams have.

Kevin Draper, New York Times, 2 Feb. 2020 Each Villa player never gave their opponents a seconds rest, constantly harrying and chasing down.

SI.com, 2 Nov. 2019 During the Cultural Revolution of 1966-76, when sacred sites were razed by Maoist zealots and countless priests and monks were harried to death, the temple became a primary school.

The Economist, 19 Sep. 2019 The second-movement Larghetto was appropriately restrained, but the finale was harried, even frantic.Exposed high writing for violins in the outer movements wasn’t always tidy.

Scott Cantrell, Dallas News, 17 Jan. 2020 See More

Word History

Etymology

Middle English hærȝen, herien, harien, herwen, harwen "to plunder, ravage, torment, pursue, drag," going back to Old English hergian, herian, heregian, hergon "to make predatory raids, ravage, wage war," going back to Germanic *harjōjan- (whence also Old Saxon herion "to plunder," Middle Dutch heren, hergen "to destroy with an army, ravage," Old High German heriōn, herrōn "to devastate, plunder," Old Norse herja "to despoil, lay waste"), verbal derivative of *harja- "body of armed men" (whence Old English here "body of armed men, army," Old Frisian here [in compounds], Old Saxon heri "army, crowd," Old High German heri, hari, Old Norse herr "host, army," Gothic harjis), going back to Indo-European *kori̯o- (whence also Middle Irish cuire "troop, host, company," Middle Welsh cord, cordd "tribe, clan, multitude, troop," Lithuanian kãrias "war, army"), derivative of appurtenance from *kor- "war," whence Lithuanian kãras "war," Old Persian kāra- "army, people" (with lengthened grade?); also, with suffix -no-, Greek koíranos "commander, ruler" (< *koironos < *kori̯o-no-s)

Note: Old English forms such as her(e)gian, 3rd singular present hergaþ, show variants with reversion of palatal g (= [j]) to velar g (= [ɣ]) before a back vowel, though in this case there was no original g, and the reversion is analogical. The two competing sets of forms were passed on to Middle English. The variants with either -i- or -w- gave rise to two more or less distinct words in modern English, harry and harrow entry 1. For other words containing Old English here "body of armed men" or Germanic *harja- see arrière-ban, harbinger entry 1, harbor entry 1, harness entry 1, herald entry 1, heriot.

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

单词	harrying
释义	harry verb har·ry ˈher-ē ˈha-rē harried; harrying transitive verb 1 : to make a pillaging or destructive raid on : assault 2 : to force to move along by harassing harrying the terrified horses down out of the mountains R. A. Sokolov 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"). Example Sentences Recent Examples on the Web Ukraine’s military command said its troops continued to harry the forces that Russia has been massing for a full-scale assault on the Donbas region, the industrial heartland where Moscow already holds sway. Los Angeles Times, 22 Apr. 2022 The fighters had divided into teams to target strategic points within the prison, while others were sent to harry a nearby battalion of Kurdish fighters and block off routes to the complex. NBC News, 24 Jan. 2022 Indiana pounded the paint early, bossed Michigan State on the boards and harried every screen. Zach Osterman, Indianapolis Star, 24 Jan. 2020 Rebel groups had continued to harry government forces, however, from outside the city with mortar rounds. Sarah El Deeb, BostonGlobe.com, 16 Feb. 2020 Before that pass, the 49ers harried Mahomes as few teams have. Kevin Draper, New York Times, 2 Feb. 2020 Each Villa player never gave their opponents a seconds rest, constantly harrying and chasing down. SI.com, 2 Nov. 2019 During the Cultural Revolution of 1966-76, when sacred sites were razed by Maoist zealots and countless priests and monks were harried to death, the temple became a primary school. The Economist, 19 Sep. 2019 The second-movement Larghetto was appropriately restrained, but the finale was harried, even frantic.Exposed high writing for violins in the outer movements wasn’t always tidy. Scott Cantrell, Dallas News, 17 Jan. 2020 See More Word History Etymology Middle English hærȝen, herien, harien, herwen, harwen "to plunder, ravage, torment, pursue, drag," going back to Old English hergian, herian, heregian, hergon "to make predatory raids, ravage, wage war," going back to Germanic harjōjan- (whence also Old Saxon herion* "to plunder," Middle Dutch heren, hergen "to destroy with an army, ravage," Old High German heriōn, herrōn "to devastate, plunder," Old Norse herja "to despoil, lay waste"), verbal derivative of harja- "body of armed men" (whence Old English here* "body of armed men, army," Old Frisian here [in compounds], Old Saxon heri "army, crowd," Old High German heri, hari, Old Norse herr "host, army," Gothic harjis), going back to Indo-European kori̯o- (whence also Middle Irish cuire* "troop, host, company," Middle Welsh cord, cordd "tribe, clan, multitude, troop," Lithuanian kãrias "war, army"), derivative of appurtenance from kor- "war," whence Lithuanian kãras* "war," Old Persian kāra- "army, people" (with lengthened grade?); also, with suffix -no-, Greek koíranos "commander, ruler" (< koironos < kori̯o-no-s) Note: Old English forms such as her(e)gian, 3rd singular present hergaþ, show variants with reversion of palatal g (= [j]) to velar g (= [ɣ]) before a back vowel, though in this case there was no original g, and the reversion is analogical. The two competing sets of forms were passed on to Middle English. The variants with either -i- or -w- gave rise to two more or less distinct words in modern English, harry and harrow entry 1. For other words containing Old English here "body of armed men" or Germanic harja- see arrière-ban, harbinger entry 1, harbor entry 1, harness entry 1, herald entry 1, heriot. First Known Use before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1 Kids Definition harry verb har·ry ˈher-ē harried; harrying : harass The invaders harried* the village's residents. harrying 1 of 2 noun as in harassment the act of making unwelcome intrusions upon another to be spared from the relentless harrying of telemarketers, she stopped answering the phone Synonyms & Similar Words Relevance harassment bothering bugging pestering teasing disturbance annoyance torture bedevilment importunity persecution aggravation vexation torment botheration provocation offence devilment offense molestation aggro devilry mischief harrying 2 of 2 verb present participle of harry 1 as in marauding Synonyms & Similar Words marauding plundering despoiling pillaging sacking looting ravaging stripping destroying extirpating eradicating obliterating wrecking annihilating scourging desolating foraying ruining wasting devastating expunging wracking decimating extinguishing smashing vaporizing nuking mowing shattering wiping out totaling overrunning razing demolishing overpowering overthrowing rubbing out totalling overwhelming crushing Antonyms & Near Antonyms recovering restoring rehabilitating fixing repairing redeeming mending reconditioning revamping patching See More 2 as in harassing Synonyms & Similar Words harassing haranguing attacking berating scolding assailing reviling savaging excoriating execrating scathing castigating whipping abusing lambasting insulting affronting blaspheming slamming blasting bashing trashing cursing vituperating disparaging belittling profaning belaboring traducing chiding vilifying slandering imprecating criticizing aspersing libeling slurring potshotting libelling fulminating chastising rebuking bad-mouthing blackguarding reprimanding jumping (on) putting down lacing (into) lashing (out) Antonyms & Near Antonyms praising commending hailing lauding complimenting acclaiming
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harry

verb

Did you know?

Example Sentences

Word History

Kids Definition

verb

noun

verb