Hair
Hair
(hr), n. [OE. her, heer, hr, AS. hr; akin to OFries. hr, D. & G. haar, OHG. & Icel. hr, Dan. haar, Sw. hr; cf. Lith. kasa.] 1. The collection or mass of filaments growing from the skin of an animal, and forming a covering for a part of the head or for any part or the whole of the body.[1913 Webster]
2. One the above-mentioned filaments, consisting, in vertebrate animals, of a long, tubular part which is free and flexible, and a bulbous root imbedded in the skin.
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Then read he me how Sampson lost his hairs.Chaucer.
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And draweth new delights with hoary hairs.Spenser.
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3. Hair (human or animal) used for various purposes; as,
hair for stuffing cushions.
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4.
(Zol.) A slender outgrowth from the chitinous cuticle of insects, spiders, crustaceans, and other invertebrates. Such hairs are totally unlike those of vertebrates in structure, composition, and mode of growth.
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5.
(Bot.) An outgrowth of the epidermis, consisting of one or of several cells, whether pointed, hooked, knobbed, or stellated. Internal hairs occur in the flower stalk of the yellow frog lily (Nuphar).
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6. A spring device used in a hair-trigger firearm.
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7. A haircloth.
[Obs.]
Chaucer.
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8. Any very small distance, or degree; a hairbreadth.
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Hairs is often used adjectively or in combination; as, hairbrush or hair brush, hair dye, hair oil, hairpin, hair powder, a brush, a dye, etc., for the hair.
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Against the hair, in a rough and disagreeable manner; against the grain.
[Obs.] "You go against the hair of your professions."
Shak. --
Hair bracket
(Ship Carp.), a molding which comes in at the back of, or runs aft from, the figurehead. --
Hair cells
(Anat.), cells with hairlike processes in the sensory epithelium of certain parts of the internal ear. --
Hair compass,
Hair divider, a compass or divider capable of delicate adjustment by means of a screw. --
Hair glove, a glove of horsehair for rubbing the skin. --
Hair lace, a netted fillet for tying up the hair of the head.
Swift. --
Hair line, a line made of hair; a very slender line. --
Hair moth
(Zol.), any moth which destroys goods made of hair, esp. Tinea biselliella. --
Hair pencil, a brush or pencil made of fine hair, for painting; -- generally called by the name of the hair used; as, a camel's
hair pencil, a sable's
hair pencil, etc. --
Hair plate, an iron plate forming the back of the hearth of a bloomery fire. --
Hair powder, a white perfumed powder, as of flour or starch, formerly much used for sprinkling on the hair of the head, or on wigs. --
Hair seal
(Zol.), any one of several species of eared seals which do not produce fur; a sea lion. --
Hair seating, haircloth for seats of chairs, etc. --
Hair shirt, a shirt, or a band for the loins, made of horsehair, and worn as a penance. --
Hair sieve, a strainer with a haircloth bottom. --
Hair snake. See Gordius. --
Hair space
(Printing), the thinnest metal space used in lines of type. --
Hair stroke, a delicate stroke in writing. --
Hair trigger, a trigger so constructed as to discharge a firearm by a very slight pressure, as by the touch of a hair.
Farrow. --
Not worth a hair, of no value. --
To a hair, with the nicest distinction. --
To split hairs, to make distinctions of useless nicety.
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hair"ball`
,hair" ball`
(hr"bl`), n. a compact mass of hair that forms in the stomach of animals as a result of licking fur; as, the cat coughed up a hairball right on the new rug. [wns=1 + 2][WordNet 1.5]
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Wed 03rd March 2021