Haggard means careworn; showing the wearing effects of overwork or care or suffering; bony; very thin especially from disease or hunger or cold.
"Her face was drawn and haggard."
A haggard was also a stackyard on a farm; a place for stacking grain and hay.
And Henry Rider Haggard was a British writer noted for romantic adventure novels (1856-1925).
But it was another definition of haggard that Partner-who-loves-tea and I came across in the crossword the other day. Apparently it was a name given to a wild hunting bird (a hawk or falcon) captured as an adult.
How curious is that, to call a captured bird of prey haggard? Interesting!
ReplyDeleteScriptor... Here's a phrase I wondered about "Spic and Span."
ReplyDeleteHere's a YouTube sensation: Russian linguist Hot For Words. You might enjoy her work.
http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=hot+for+words&hl=en&emb=1&aq=0&oq=hot+for+w#