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harrier

 - 5 dictionary results

har⋅ri⋅er

1  [har-ee-er]
Use harrier in a Sentence
–noun
1. a person who or thing that harries.
2. any of several short-winged hawks of the genus Circus that hunt over meadows and marshes and prey on reptiles and small birds and mammals.
3. (initial capital letter) Military. a one- or two-seat British-American fighter, both an attack and a reconnaissance aircraft, featuring a turbofan engine with a directable thrust that enables it to land and take off vertically.
Origin:
1550–60; harry + -er 1

har⋅ri⋅er

2  [har-ee-er]
–noun
1. one of a breed of medium-sized hounds, used, usually in packs, in hunting.
2. a cross-country runner.
Origin:
1535–45; special use of harrier 1 , by assoc. with hare
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To harrier
har·ri·er 1   (hār'ē-ər)   
n.  

  1. One that harries.

  2. Any of various slender, narrow-winged hawks of the genus Circus, such as the marsh hawk, that prey on small animals.


[Sense 2, alteration (influenced by harry) of obsolete harrower, from harrow2.]
har·ri·er 2   (hār'ē-ər)   
n.  

  1. Any of a breed of small hounds originally used in hunting hares and rabbits.

  2. A cross-country runner.


[Middle English hairer, eirer, possibly alteration (influenced by hair, hare, hare) of Old French errier, wanderer, from errer, to wander; see err.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

harrier 
1542, from M.E. hayrer "small hunting dog" (1408), possibly from M.Fr. errier "wanderer," or associated with hare, which they would have hunted. The hawk genus (1556) is from harry (q.v.), which is also a candidate for the source of the dog name.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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