Wordwyrt

harshness

/ˈhɑːʃnəs/HAHRSH-nuhs
/ˈhɑɹʃnəs/HAHRSH-nuhs

Meaningthe quality of being harsh

Common meaning: roughness or severity

Journey through time

  1. Danishharsk‘rancid’source
  2. Middle Englishharsk‘rough to the touch’source
  3. Englishharsh‘rough, severe’
  4. Englishformed in English from harshharshness‘roughness or severity’ · today

Sources & notes

Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.

Pronunciation

  • UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
  • No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
  • US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
  • No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.

Origin: Formed in English from harsh + -ness.

Dictionary: Skeat (1898), HARSH, p.256 · scan

Source words

  • harsk Danish · source word “rancid, rough”

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