- hair shirt
- noun Date: 14th century 1. a shirt made of rough animal hair worn next to the skin as a penance 2. one that irritates like a hair shirt
New Collegiate Dictionary. 2001.
hair shirt
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hair shirt — hair shirts 1) N COUNT A hair shirt is a shirt made of rough uncomfortable cloth which some religious people used to wear to punish themselves. He was sent barefoot wearing only a hair shirt into the wilderness as a penance. 2) N COUNT If you say … English dictionary
Hair shirt — Hair Hair (h[^a]r), n. [OE. her, heer, h[ae]r, AS. h[=ae]r; akin to OFries. h[=e]r, D. & G. haar, OHG. & Icel. h[=a]r, Dan. haar, Sw. h[*a]r; cf. Lith. kasa.] 1. The collection or mass of filaments growing from the skin of an animal, and forming… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
hair-shirt — garment of ascetics and penitents, 1680s, from HAIR (Cf. hair) + SHIRT (Cf. shirt). Figurative use by 1884. Earlier, such a garment was called simply a hair … Etymology dictionary
hair shirt — noun count a shirt made of very rough cloth that some religious people wore in the past to punish themselves for things they had done wrong put on/wear a hair shirt to do something in order to show that you feel very sorry and guilty about… … Usage of the words and phrases in modern English
hair shirt — n a shirt made of rough uncomfortable cloth containing hair, worn in the past by some religious people to punish themselves … Dictionary of contemporary English
hair shirt — ► NOUN ▪ a shirt made of stiff cloth woven from horsehair, formerly worn by penitents and ascetics … English terms dictionary
hair shirt — n. a shirt of haircloth, worn over the skin as a penance … English World dictionary
hair shirt — hair′ shirt′ n. rel a garment of coarse haircloth, worn next to the skin as a penance • Etymology: 1350–1400 … From formal English to slang
hair shirt — noun an uncomfortable shirt made of coarse animal hair; worn next to the skin as a penance • Hypernyms: ↑shirt * * * noun 1. : a shirt made of coarse rough animal hair worn next to the skin as a penance led him … to give himself to fasting, a… … Useful english dictionary
hair shirt — UK / US noun [countable] Word forms hair shirt : singular hair shirt plural hair shirts a shirt made of very rough cloth that some religious people wore in the past to punish themselves for things that they had done wrong • put on/wear a hair… … English dictionary
hair-shirt — adjective self sacrificing or austere • Syn: ↑hair shirted • Pertains to noun: ↑hair shirt (for: ↑hair shirted), ↑hair shirt … Useful english dictionary
