hoary
Part of speech: adj
Morphological type: derivation
Topics: biology
botany
natural-sciences
zoology
Etymology: Possibly from Middle English *hori (suggested by horilocket (“hoary-locked, having hoary locks or curls”)), equivalent to hoar + -y. Alternatively, Middle English horilocket may represent Middle English hor (“hoar, hoary”) + ilocket (“locked”) rather than hori (“hoary”) + locket (“locked”).
Base: hoar
Affixes: -y
Inflected forms:
form: hoarier
pos: adj
tags: comparative
form: hoariest
pos: adj
tags: superlative
Senses:
gloss: White, whitish, or greyish-white.
pos: adj
examples: As hoary frost with spangles doth attire,
 The mossy braunches of an oke halfe ded,
But hoary Winter, unadorn'd and bare,
Dwells in the dire Retreat, and freezes there.
gloss: White or grey with age.
pos: adj
examples: The old man bowed his hoary head in acquiescence.
And ever and anon a silent tear
Stole down, and trickled from his hoary beard.
And when hoary hairs shall their temples adorn,
Like lambs they shall still in My bosom be borne.
My first thought was, he lied in every word,
That hoary cripple, with malicious eye
Askance to watch the working of his lie
On mine […]
gloss: Of a pale silvery grey.
pos: adj
gloss: Covered with short, dense, greyish white hairs.
pos: adj
gloss: Old or old-fashioned; trite.
pos: adj
tags: figuratively
examples: It was, however, most interesting work, and the moulders themselves were a decent crowd, never tired of making jokes about themselves such as the hoary one that moulders did not live long, which however ran counter to the other one that no germs could live in a foundry—the atmosphere was too foul.
In its God-like prime, The Simpsons attacked well-worn satirical fodder from unexpected angles, finding fresh laughs in the hoariest of subjects.
Nevertheless, the hoary capitalist principle of innovation and competition leading to consolidation and monopoly still operated.
gloss: Remote in time past.
pos: adj
tags: obsolete
examples: The probability of these flattering fictions could no longer be examined, when the hoary antiquity of such traditions had gained them veneration. An adventure of ancient date was in blind after-ages too readily received as truth.
Plant and animal species of hoary antiquity or at an evolutionary dead end seem similarly outdated. Remnant exemplars of the coelacanth, the tuatara, the Joshua tree are anachronisms more at home in previous than present environments.
gloss: Moldy; mossy; musty.
pos: adj
tags: obsolete
examples: By chance there was at that time brought out of the citie into the campe verie course, hoarie, moulded bread, which some of the souldiours hauing bought, and thrusting it vpon the points of their speares, shewed it vnto their fellowes in great choller, railing against king Ferdinand, which in his owne kingdome in the beginning of the warre had made no better prouision, but with such corrupt and pestilent bread to feed them being strangers, which were onely for his defence and quarrell to aduenture their liues.
Related words: hoar
Derived words: hoarily
hoariness
hoary bamboo rat
hoary bat
hoary fox
hoary fringe moss
hoary marmot
hoarypea
hoary redpoll
hoary rockrose
hoary zorro
unhoary
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