*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of harry

From Middle English herien, harien, from Old English herġian, from Proto-West Germanic *harjōn, from Proto-Germanic *harjōną, from *harjaz (“army”), from Proto-Indo-European *koryos, from *ker- (“army”). Cognates See als

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 ↗
verb

To plunder, pillage, assault. · To make repeated attacks on an enemy. · To strip, lay waste, ravage. · To harass, bother or distress with demands, threats, or criticism.

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

From Middle English herien, harien, from Old English herġian, from Proto-West Germanic *harjōn, from Proto-Germanic *harjōną, from *harjaz (“army”), from Proto-Indo-European *koryos, from *ker- (“army”). Cognates See also Walloon hairyî, Old French hairier, harier; also Saterland Frisian ferheerje, German verheeren (“to harry, devastate”), Swedish härja (“ravage, harry”); also Old English here, West Frisian hear, Dutch heer, German Heer); also Middle Irish cuire (“army”), Lithuanian kãrias (“army; war”), Old Church Slavonic кара (kara, “strife”), Ancient Greek κοίρανος (koíranos, “chief, commander”), Old Persian [script needed] (kāra, “army”)). More at here (“army”). Compare typologically Latin populor.

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "root",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*ker-"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "herien"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English herien"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "herġian"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English herġian"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*harjōn"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *harjōn"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*harjōną"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *harjōną"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*koryos"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *koryos"
    },
    {
      "name": "col-top",
      "args": {
        "1": "2",
        "2": "cog"
      },
      "expansion": "Cognates"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "wa",
        "2": "hairyî"
      },
      "expansion": "Walloon hairyî"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "stq",
        "2": "ferheerje"
      },
      "expansion": "Saterland Frisian ferheerje"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "verheeren",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to harry, devastate"
      },
      "expansion": "German verheeren (“to harry, devastate”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sv",
        "2": "härja",
        "3": "",
        "4": "ravage, harry"
      },
      "expansion": "Swedish härja (“ravage, harry”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "ang",
        "2": "here"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English here"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fy",
        "2": "hear"
      },
      "expansion": "West Frisian hear"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "heer"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch heer"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "Heer"
      },
      "expansion": "German Heer"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "mga",
        "2": "cuire",
        "3": "",
        "4": "army"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle Irish cuire (“army”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "lt",
        "2": "kãrias",
        "3": "",
        "4": "army; war"
      },
      "expansion": "Lithuanian kãrias (“army; war”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "cu",
        "2": "кара",
        "3": "",
        "4": "strife"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Church Slavonic кара (kara, “strife”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "grc",
        "2": "κοίρανος",
        "3": "",
        "4": "chief, commander"
      },
      "expansion": "Ancient Greek κοίρανος (koíranos, “chief, commander”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "peo",
        "4": "army",
        "tr": "kāra"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Persian [script needed] (kāra, “army”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "m+",
      "args": {
        "1": "la",
        "2": "populor"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin populor"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "herien",
      "herien#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "harien",
      "harien#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "herġian",
      "hergian#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*harjōn",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/harjōn"
    ],
    [
      "*harjōną",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/harjōną"
    ],
    [
      "*harjaz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/harjaz"
    ],
    [
      "*koryos",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/koryos"
    ],
    [
      "*ker-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/ker-"
    ],
    [
      "hairyî",
      "hairyî#Walloon"
    ],
    [
      "hairier",
      "hairier#Walloon"
    ],
    [
      "harier",
      "harier#Walloon"
    ],
    [
      "ferheerje",
      "ferheerje#Saterland_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "verheeren",
      "verheeren#German"
    ],
    [
      "härja",
      "härja#Swedish"
    ],
    [
      "here",
      "here#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "hear",
      "hear#West_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "heer",
      "heer#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "Heer",
      "Heer#German"
    ],
    [
      "cuire",
      "cuire#Middle_Irish"
    ],
    [
      "kãrias",
      "karias#Lithuanian"
    ],
    [
      "кара",
      "кара#Old_Church_Slavonic"
    ],
    [
      "κοίρανος",
      "κοίρανος#Ancient_Greek"
    ],
    [
      "here",
      "here#English"
    ],
    [
      "populor",
      "populor#Latin"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To plunder, pillage, assault.",
        "To make repeated attacks on an enemy.",
        "To strip, lay waste, ravage.",
        "To harass, bother or distress with demands, threats, or criticism."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive"
      ],
      "recordId": "58e2a1827303a4fea1d8650df05675aaf3d0ac1ea289fa61b74e6aa66c5628ff",
      "rawRecordSha256": "e5d9df3f957cc1008a78a3159a0b42dcbdc68185f0e475b7bf9cbc02e7ddd7ee",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 248141
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
noun

A menial servant; a sweeper.

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

Related to Hindi हड्डी (haḍḍī, “bone”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "hi",
        "3": "हड्डी",
        "4": "",
        "5": "bone"
      },
      "expansion": "Hindi हड्डी (haḍḍī, “bone”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "हड्डी",
      "हड्डी#Hindi"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A menial servant; a sweeper."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "India",
        "obsolete",
        "transitive"
      ],
      "recordId": "c893c3cedff251371e5f37b6750ec0d4cd271a764f08c1f2cd31cccc1a72dc41",
      "rawRecordSha256": "5183a26ef6fcb97d7a1d8308535ab4f3eb2a02d951496074886cd7dbc046df65",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 248142
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
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    "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.

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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-aGFycnk