Contextualizebeta

harass

verb
/həˈɹæs/US/ˈhæɹəs/

Etymology

The verb is derived from Middle French, Old French harasser (“to exhaust, tire out, wear out; to harry, torment, vex”) (modern French harasser (“to exhaust, tire out, wear out”)), possibly from Old French harer (“to set a dog on”), from Frankish *hara (“here, hither”) (a command for a dog to attack), from Proto-Germanic *hē₂r (“here, in this place”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱe (“here; this”) + *ís (“the (person or thing just named)”) + *-r. The noun is derived from the verb.

  1. derived from *ḱe✻ — “here; this”
  2. derived from *hē₂r✻ — “here, in this place”
  3. derived from *hara✻ — “here, hither”
  4. derived from harer — “to set a dog on”
  5. derived from harasser — “to exhaust, tire out, wear out; to harry, torment, vex”

Definitions

  1. To annoy (someone) frequently or systematically

    To annoy (someone) frequently or systematically; to pester.

    • For it is a stout calf, ripe for the temples and altar [to be sacrificed], and to be sprinkled with wine; who is now ashamed to draw the dugs of his mother, and who harasseth the oaks with his budding horn.

  2. To put excessive burdens upon (someone)

    To put excessive burdens upon (someone); to subject (someone) to anxieties.

    • To harass good people is no different than speaking ill of them.
    • He, who harasseth his household, shall inherit the wind; / And the fool shall be the servant of the wise in heart.

  3. To trouble (someone, or a group of people) through repeated military-style attacks.

    • But meanevvhile, to harraſſe and vvearie the Engliſh, they [the French] did vpon all aduantages ſet vpon them vvith their Light-Horſe; vvherein neuertheleſſe they receiued commonly loſſe, eſpecially by meanes of the Engliſh-Archers.
    • [T]he Britains, left to ſhift for themſelves, and daily haraſſed by cruel Inroads from the Picts, were forced to call in the Saxons for their Defence; […]
    • Spain, or Iberia, as it was called in ancient days, has been a country harassed from the earliest times, by the invader.
  4. ›+ 2 more definitions

    1. Often followed by out

      Often followed by out: to fatigue or tire (someone) with exhausting and repeated efforts.

      • Their Bodies harraſs, ſink 'em when they run; / And fry their melting Marrow in the Sun.
      • Nature oppreſs'd, and harraſs'd out with Care, / Sinks down to Reſt.

    2. Harassment

      Harassment; pestering.

      • Mean while the men of Judah to prevent / The harraſs of thir Land, beſet me round; […]
      • The wary foe alone hath turn'd their mood, / And shown their rashness to that erring brood: / The feign'd retreat, the nightly ambuscade, / The daily harass, and the fight delay'd, […]

The neighborhood

Derived

cyberharass, don't ask, don't tell, don't harass, don't pursue, harassable, harassed, harassedly, harasser, harassful, harasshole, harassing, harassingly, harassive, harassment, overharass, sexually harass, unharassable, unharassed

Vish — recursive loop

A definitional loop anchored at harass. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.

01harass02repeated03said04mentioned05mention06feed07eat08worry

A definitional loop anchored at harass. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.

8 hops · closes at harass

curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA