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.
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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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