herry

H4E1R1R1Y4

verb

To honour, praise or celebrate.

OriginMiddle English heryen ← Old English herian ← Proto-West Germanic *haʀjan →
RareScrabble 11
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Meanings

herry1

verbherry (third-person singular simple present herries, present participle herrying, simple past and past participle herried)

present singular third person herries · participle present herrying · participle past herried · past herried · alternative herye

  1. obsoletetransitiveTo honour, praise or celebrate.

    Thenceforth it firmely was eſtabliſhed, / And for Apolloes temple highly herried.

    1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto XII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, page 365

herry2

verbherry (third-person singular simple present herries, present participle herrying, simple past and past participle herried)

present singular third person herries · participle present herrying · participle past herried · past herried · alternative hery

  1. ScotlandalternativeobsoletetransitiveAlternative form of harry.

    The heroic Sim flew to horse, and desired all that were friends to the Scots to follow, while Laidlaw addressed his compeers, saying, "Up, lads, and let us ride; our host must not be herried while we are under his roof."

    1822, James Hogg, The Three Perils of Man; Or, War, Women, and Witchcraft, page 228
    2 more examples

    In the Spring of the Year thereafter, this inteſtine War, within the Bowels of this Commonweal, began to increase ay more and more; and ſo continued two Years; during the which Time, the Douglaſſes burnt and herried all Lands pertaining to the King and his Aſſiſters; and alſo to them that were not plain on his Faction.

    1728, Robert Lindsay, Robert Freebairn, The History of Scotland: From 21 February, 1436, to March, 1565, page 44

    The victories of Inverlochy, of Alderne, and of Alford, the herrying of Argyleshire, and the sacking of Dundee, could scarcely make up for the terrible toils encountered in climhing the bleak precipices of the west, in wading through drifts of snow among the mountains during the depths of winter,[…].

    c. 1830, Andrew Picken, The Deer-Stalkers of Glenskiach, published 1840, page 38

herry3

verbherry (third-person singular simple present herries, present participle herrying, simple past and past participle herried)

present singular third person herries · participle present herrying · participle past herried · past herried

  1. pronunciation spellingPronunciation spelling of hurry

Origin

herry · verb

  1. Proto-Indo-European*ḱens-“to speak in a florid, solemn style, attest, witness”
  2. Proto-Germanic*hazjaną“to call, praise”
  3. Proto-West Germanic*haʀjan
  4. Old Englishherian“to extol, praise, commend, help”
  5. Middle Englishheryen
  6. Englishherry

From Middle English heryen, herien, from Old English herian (“to extol, praise, commend, help”), from Proto-West Germanic *haʀjan, from Proto-Germanic *hazjaną (“to call, praise”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱens- (“to speak in a florid, solemn style, attest, witness”). Cognate with Middle High German haren (“to call, shout”), Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐌶𐌾𐌰𐌽 (hazjan, “to praise”), Sanskrit शंसति (śáṃsati, “to announce; to praise, extol, commend”), Latin cēnseō (“inspect, appraise, estimate”, verb), Latin cēnsus (“estimation”). See censor, census.

More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic

Full word history & related roots →

herry · verb

  1. Proto-Germanic*harjōną“to devastate, lay waste”
  2. Old Englishhergian“to ravage, plunder, lay waste, harry; seize, take, capture”
  3. Middle Englishherien
  4. Englishherry

From earlier hery, from Middle English herien, herȝen, herwen, from Old English hergian (“to ravage, plunder, lay waste, harry; seize, take, capture”), from Proto-Germanic *harjōną (“to devastate, lay waste”). More at harry.

More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-Germanic

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

herry. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/herry

MLA

“herry.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/herry. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “herry,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/herry.

Source: herry on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.