— hairlike , adj.
/hair/ , n.
1. any of the numerous fine, usually cylindrical, keratinous filaments growing from the skin of humans and animals; a pilus.
2. an aggregate of such filaments, as that covering the human head or forming the coat of most mammals.
3. a similar fine, filamentous outgrowth from the body of insects, spiders, etc.
4. Bot. a filamentous outgrowth of the epidermis.
5. cloth made of hair from animals, as camel and alpaca.
6. a very small amount, degree, measure, magnitude, etc.; a fraction, as of time or space: He lost the race by a hair.
7. get in someone's hair , Slang. to annoy or bother someone: Their snobbishness gets in my hair.
8. hair of the dog , Informal. a drink of liquor, supposed to relieve a hangover: Even a hair of the dog didn't help his aching head. Also, hair of the dog that bit one .
9. let one's hair down , Informal.
a. to relax; behave informally: He finally let his hair down and actually cracked a joke.
b. to speak candidly or frankly; remove or reduce restraints: He let his hair down and told them about his anxieties.
10. make one's hair stand on end , to strike or fill with horror; terrify: The tales of the jungle made our hair stand on end.
11. split hairs , to make unnecessarily fine or petty distinctions: To argue about whether they arrived at two o'clock or at 2:01 is just splitting hairs.
12. tear one's hair , to manifest extreme anxiety, grief, or anger: He's tearing his hair over the way he was treated by them. Also, tear one's hair out .
13. to a hair , perfect to the smallest detail; exactly: The reproduction matched the original to a hair.
14. without turning a hair , without showing the least excitement or emotion. Also, not turn a hair .
[ bef. 900; ME heer, OE haer (c. D, G haar, ON har ), with vowel perh. from ME haire hair shirt haria (c. ME here, OE haere, ON haera ) ]