hare.
Any of several plant-eating mammals of the genus Lepus, similar to a rabbit, but larger and with longer ears.
Meaning & usage
Any of several plant-eating mammals of the genus Lepus, similar to a rabbit, but larger and with longer ears.
The meat from this animal.
The player in a paperchase, or hare and hounds game, who leaves a trail of paper to be followed.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English hare, from Old English hara (“hare”), from Proto-West Germanic *hasō ~ *haʀ-, from Proto-Germanic *hesô, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱh₂s-én-; possibly related to or influenced by Proto-Germanic *haswaz (“grey”). Cognates See also West Frisian hazze, Dutch haas, German Hase, Norwegian and Swedish hare, Icelandic heri), Old English hasu, Middle High German heswe (“pale, dull”); also Welsh cannu (“to whiten”), ceinach (“hare”), Latin cānus (“white”), cascus (“old”), Old Prussian sasnis (“hare”), Pashto سوی (soe, “hare”) and Sanskrit शश (śaśa, “hare”).
To move swiftly.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English hare, from Old English hara (“hare”), from Proto-West Germanic *hasō ~ *haʀ-, from Proto-Germanic *hesô, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱh₂s-én-; possibly related to or influenced by Proto-Germanic *haswaz (“grey”). Cognates See also West Frisian hazze, Dutch haas, German Hase, Norwegian and Swedish hare, Icelandic heri), Old English hasu, Middle High German heswe (“pale, dull”); also Welsh cannu (“to whiten”), ceinach (“hare”), Latin cānus (“white”), cascus (“old”), Old Prussian sasnis (“hare”), Pashto سوی (soe, “hare”) and Sanskrit शश (śaśa, “hare”).
To excite; to tease, or worry; to harry.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English harren, harien (“to drag by force, ill-treat”), of uncertain origin. Compare harry, harass.
Grey, hoary; grey-haired, venerable (of people).
a hare old man
Cold, frosty (of weather).
a hare day
Where this word comes from
From Middle English hore, from Old English hār (“hoar, hoary, grey, old”), from Proto-Germanic *hairaz (“grey”). Cognate with German hehr (“noble, sublime”).
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.