hoar

Etymology

Came into English from Middle English hor, hore, which developed from Old English hār (“hoar, hoary, grey, old”). This in turn traces back through Proto-West Germanic *hair to Proto-Germanic *hairaz (“grey”), and ultimately to Proto-Indo-European *(s)ḱeh₃- (“grey, dark”). It is cognate with German hehr (“noble, sublime”) and Herr (“sir, gentleman”), Scottish Gaelic ciar (“dusky”), and Russian се́рый (séryj, “grey”).