male personal name, a familiar form of
Henry (q.v.). Weekley takes the overwhelming number of
Harris, Harrison surnames as evidence that "Harry," not "Henry," was the M.E. pronunciation of
Henry. Also cf.
Harriet, Eng. equivalent of Fr.
Henriette, fem. dim. of
Henri. Nautical slang
Harriet Lane "preserved meat" (1896) refers to a famous murder victim whose killer allegedly chopped up her body. The
Harris in
Harris tweed (1892) is from the name of the southern section of the island of
Lewis with Harris in the Outer Hebrides; originally it referred to fabric produced by the inhabitants there, later a proprietary name.
[har-ee] 
verb, -ried, -ry⋅ing.