*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of haze

* The earliest instances are of the latter part of the 17th century. * Possibly back-formation from hazy. * Compare Old Norse höss (“grey”), akin to Old English hasu (“gray”).

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
noun

Very fine solid particles (smoke, dust) or liquid droplets (moisture) suspended in the air, slightly limiting visibility. (Compare fog, mist.) · A reduction of transparency of a clear gas or liquid. · An analogous dullness on a surface that is ideally highly reflective or transparent. · Any state suggestive of haze in the atmosphere, such as mental confusion or vagueness of memory.

verb

To be or become hazy, or thick with haze.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

* The earliest instances are of the latter part of the 17th century. * Possibly back-formation from hazy. * Compare Old Norse höss (“grey”), akin to Old English hasu (“gray”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Cognate mentionhössnon
  • Cognate mentionhasuang

This page abbreviates 2 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "back-form",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "hazy",
        "nocap": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "back-formation from hazy"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "non",
        "2": "höss",
        "3": "",
        "4": "grey"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Norse höss (“grey”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "ang",
        "2": "hasu",
        "3": "",
        "4": "gray"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English hasu (“gray”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "hazy",
      "hazy#English"
    ],
    [
      "höss",
      "höss#Old_Norse"
    ],
    [
      "hasu",
      "hasu#Old_English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "Very fine solid particles (smoke, dust) or liquid droplets (moisture) suspended in the air, slightly limiting visibility. (Compare fog, mist.)",
        "A reduction of transparency of a clear gas or liquid.",
        "An analogous dullness on a surface that is ideally highly reflective or transparent.",
        "Any state suggestive of haze in the atmosphere, such as mental confusion or vagueness of memory."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "uncountable",
        "usually",
        "figuratively"
      ],
      "recordId": "7cb5a8807ecf0f900da73d578df8420fdac49739b529ed81f742c215a76d4e45",
      "rawRecordSha256": "bbe0a4a0122efbad55a912cc08035f5aeb44684c1e8fd14cac4819ef88f8f1e6",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 165766
    },
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To be or become hazy, or thick with haze."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "9bc70c55885ce8e64c8c5b270536053f56456a08d8887ac00b07fa9ad5c785c5",
      "rawRecordSha256": "48c7b3693c041867fb9b985e458bc44c46247cb5e6e04ecec2d914793f5cf2c4",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 165767
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 2,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
verb

To perform an unpleasant initiation ritual upon a usually non-consenting person, especially freshmen to a closed community such as a college fraternity or military unit. · To oppress or harass by forcing to do hard and unnecessary work. · In a rodeo, to assist the bulldogger by keeping (the steer) running in a straight line. · To use aversive stimuli on (a wild animal, such as a bear) to encourage it to keep its distance from humans.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Possibly from hawze (“terrify, frighten, confound”), from Middle French haser (“irritate, annoy”)

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Unspecified derivation mentionhaserfrm
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "uder",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "frm",
        "3": "haser",
        "4": "",
        "5": "irritate, annoy"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle French haser (“irritate, annoy”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "hawze",
      "hawze#English"
    ],
    [
      "haser",
      "haser#Middle_French"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To perform an unpleasant initiation ritual upon a usually non-consenting person, especially freshmen to a closed community such as a college fraternity or military unit.",
        "To oppress or harass by forcing to do hard and unnecessary work.",
        "In a rodeo, to assist the bulldogger by keeping (the steer) running in a straight line.",
        "To use aversive stimuli on (a wild animal, such as a bear) to encourage it to keep its distance from humans."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "US",
        "informal",
        "transitive"
      ],
      "recordId": "8f16b0537830b20106c53fdbd8ee953eefbca7339edca30b268af34408b08ae0",
      "rawRecordSha256": "b86519f68c81e625d84b5bffcc468db6f29fa9409d8f8535cdb4b4cd7ac6c8a8",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 165768
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for haze →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-aGF6ZQ