hoary

Meaning

1. White, whitish, or greyish-white.
2. White or grey with age.
3. Of a pale silvery grey.
4. Covered with short, dense, greyish white hairs.
5. Old or old-fashioned; trite.
6. (obsolete) Remote in time past.
7. (obsolete) Moldy; mossy; musty.

Synonyms

grey

white

hoar

gray

grey-headed

grey-haired

canescent

gray-haired

ancient

grizzly

gray-headed

aged

rusty

white-haired

old

🧓

frosted

whitish

gray-bearded

fossilised

world old

leuekotrichious

hoary haired

hoared

vinnewed

age-old

august

frostiness

frosty

greyish

grizzled

immemorial

leafless with age

longstanding

moldy

mouldy

musty

primeval

time-honoured

venerable

Pronounced as (IPA)

/hɔː.ɹi/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: *hori

In summary

Possibly from Middle English *hori (suggested by horilocket (“hoary-locked, having hoary locks or curls”)), equivalent to hoar + -y. Alternatively, Middle English horilocket may represent Middle English hor (“hoar, hoary”) + ilocket (“locked”) rather than hori (“hoary”) + locket (“locked”).