harry

C2+ Topic:Actions & Processes

US /ˈhæri/ UK /ˈhæri/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

verb
to harass or torment persistently; to raid or pillage

Guerrilla bands continued to harry the retreating army.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to harass or torment... harass torment pester plague raid pillage

Opposites

aid soothe comfort

Word family

Forms harried

Derived forms harriedharrierharrying

Related forms harrow

Simplified etymology

Harry goes back through Old English to an ancient root meaning “army” or “host.” Despite similarities in sound and meaning, it is unrelated to harass.

Etymology

From Middle English harien, from Old English hergian ('to ravage, plunder, make war'), from Proto-Germanic *harjōną ('to raid'), from *harjaz ('army').

hergian Old English *harjaz Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# harry

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈhæri/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈhæri/

## Meanings
1. to harass or torment persistently; to raid or pillage

## Examples
- Guerrilla bands continued to harry the retreating army.

## Synonyms
- harass
- torment
- pester
- plague
- raid
- pillage

## Antonyms
- aid
- soothe
- comfort

## Derived Forms
- harried
- harrier
- harrying

## Related Forms
- harrow

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: hergian
- Root: *harjaz

## Etymology
From Middle English harien, from Old English hergian ('to ravage, plunder, make war'), from Proto-Germanic *harjōną ('to raid'), from *harjaz ('army').

## AI Etymology
Harry comes from Middle English harien, from Old English hergian ('to ravage, plunder, make war'), from Proto-Germanic *harjōną ('to raid'), from *harjaz ('army'). The historical trail runs through Old English hergian and Proto-Germanic *harjaz. In modern use it means to harass or torment persistently; to raid or pillage. Derived formations include harried, harrier, harrying; related forms include harrow.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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