Etymograph

English

hards

Hards comes from Middle English herde ‘piece of hards’, from Old English heorde ‘headhair’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kes- ‘to comb, card’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kes-1‘to comb, card’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hezdǭ1reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*heʀdā1‘tow, flax fibre’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150heorde1‘headhair’
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150heordan1‘hards of flax, tow’weak feminine plural of heorde
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500herde1‘piece of hards’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500herdes1plural of herde
  8. Englishtodayhards1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English hards

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kes-Wiktionary, English hards‘to comb, card’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hezdǭWiktionary, English hardsreconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*heʀdāWiktionary, English hards‘tow, flax fibre’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150heordeWiktionary, English hards‘headhair’
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150heordanWiktionary, English hards‘hards of flax, tow’weak feminine plural of heorde
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500herdeWiktionary, English hards‘piece of hards’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500herdesWiktionary, English hardsplural of herde
  8. EnglishtodayhardsWiktionary, English hards

Linked words

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

hair, herring, xylem, xylitol, 8 more

through Middle English herde ‘piece of hards’

herd, 1 more

Today it means

noun The short coarser fibers of flax or hemp; tow.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “hards”. 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-Indo-European *kes- / hards

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