Harass
/həˈræs/noun
To subject someone to persistent hostile or unwanted pressure.
Did you know?Harass entered English through French and is often traced to a vivid older French sense like “to set upon” or “to worry/torment,” making it a word of pressure, pursuit, and exhaustion rather than a mystical term.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*harjaną
“to make war on, ravage, harry”
Old French
OF
harasser
“to harass, exhaust, wear out”
16th Century
English
harass
“to trouble or worry persistently; to attack repeatedly”
Modern English
English
harass
“to subject someone to repeated unwanted actions or hostility”