harrier
harrier Lexical Profile
harrier Game Scores & Validity
• noun
An athlete who participates in cross-country running.
"The high school harriers trained all summer by running miles on the wooded trails."
A medium-sized bird of prey in the family Accipitridae (genus Circus), characterized by long wings and a long tail, that typically hunts by flying low over open ground.
"The Northern harrier glided silently over the marshland in search of small rodents."
A medium-sized breed of hound dog, similar in appearance to a small English Foxhound, originally bred for hunting hares.
"The pack of harriers eagerly followed the scent trail through the dense brush."
• Rhymes for harrier
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Derived in Middle English from the verb 'harry' (to ravage or harass) + '-er'. The dog breed meaning likely comes from the Norman French 'harier' (a hound used for hunting hares), which eventually converged in spelling with the English term.
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.