hoary

hoar +‎ -y.

• (UK) IPA^(key): /hɔː.ɹi/
• (US) IPA^(key): /hɔɹ.i/
• Rhymes: -ɔːri

• Audio (US)

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hoary (comparative hoarier, superlative hoariest)

1. White or grey with age.

   The old man bowed his hoary head in acquiescence.

   • 1787, John Rippon, "How Firm a Foundation":

     And when hoary hairs shall their temples adorn, / Like lambs they shall still in My bosom be borne.

   • 1855, Robert Browning, “Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came”, I:

     My first thought was, he lied in every word, / That hoary cripple, with malicious eye / Askance to watch the working of his lie / On mine [...]

2. (zoology) Of a pale silvery grey.
3. (botany) Covered with short, dense, greyish white hairs; canescent.
4. (obsolete) Remote in time past.
5. (obsolete) Moldy; mossy; musty.
6. Old or old-fashioned.
   • 2012 June 3, Nathan Rabin, “TV: Review: THE SIMPSONS (CLASSIC): “Mr. Plow” (season 4, episode 9; originally aired 11/19/1992)”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name)‎:

     In its God-like prime, The Simpsons attacked well-worn satirical fodder from unexpected angles, finding fresh laughs in the hoariest of subjects.

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