Etymograph

English

hair

Hair comes from Middle English her ‘a hair’, and goes back to Proto-Germanic *hērą.

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hērą1reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hār1reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150hǣr1
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500her1‘a hair’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1579hair1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English hair
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1579, Immeritô pseudonym; Edmund Spenser, Iune. Ægloga Sexta.: “And draweth new delights with hoary hairs.”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hērąWiktionary, English hairreconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hārWiktionary, English hairreconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150hǣrWiktionary, English hair
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500herWiktionary, English hair‘a hair’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1579hairWiktionary, English hair. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1579, Immeritô pseudonym; Edmund Spenser, Iune. Ægloga Sexta.: “And draweth new delights with hoary hairs.”

The story

Eclipsed non-native Middle English cheveler, chevelere (‘hair’), borrowed from Old French chevelëure (‘hair, head-hair, coiffure, wig’). The modern spelling with ai is not a regular representation of the vowel developed from Middle English. Rather, it is from Middle English here (haircloth) influenced by Old French haire.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *kes- ‘to scrape, comb’

xylem, xylitol, hards, 8 more

through Proto-West Germanic *hār

herring, 2 more

through Middle English her ‘a hair’

here, 1 more

Today it means

noun A pigmented filament of keratin which grows from a follicle on the skin of humans and other mammals.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “hair”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *hērą / hair

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