hoar

Meanings

Noun

• A white or greyish-white colour.
• Hoariness; antiquity.

Adjective

• Of a white or greyish-white colour.
• Hoarily bearded.
• Musty; mouldy; stale.
• Figuratively, grey-haired with age.

Verb

• To become mouldy or musty.

Origin

• From Middle English hor, hore, from Old English hār ("hoar, hoary, grey, old"), from Proto-Germanic *hairaz ("grey"), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ḱeh₃- ("grey, dark"). Cognate with German hehr ("noble, sublime"), Herr, Scottish Gaelic ciar ("dusky"), and Russian се́рый ("grey").