split hairs

hair

S s

Transcription

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- UK Pronunciation
- UK IPA
- [hair]
- /splɪt her/
- /splɪt heər/

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [hair]
- /splɪt her/

Definitions of split hairs words

noun split hairs any of the numerous fine, usually cylindrical, keratinous filaments growing from the skin of humans and animals; a pilus. 1
noun split hairs an aggregate of such filaments, as that covering the human head or forming the coat of most mammals. 1
noun split hairs a similar fine, filamentous outgrowth from the body of insects, spiders, etc. 1
noun split hairs Botany. a filamentous outgrowth of the epidermis. 1
noun split hairs cloth made of hair from animals, as camel and alpaca. 1
noun split hairs a very small amount, degree, measure, magnitude, etc.; a fraction, as of time or space: He lost the race by a hair. 1

See all 18 definitions of split hairs

Information block about the term

Origin of split hairs

First appearance:

before 900

One of the 4% oldest English words

before 900; Middle English heer, Old English hǣr (cognate with Dutch, German haar, Old Norse hār), with vowel perhaps from Middle English haire hair shirt < Old French < Old High German hāria (cognate with Middle English here, Old English hǣre, Old Norse hǣra)

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Split hairs

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

Full grammatical hierarchy of Split hairs

split hairs popularity

A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 99% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.

Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".

split hairs usage trend in Literature

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Synonyms for split hairs

verb split hairs

altercate — to argue, esp heatedly; dispute
argufy — to argue or quarrel, esp over something trivial
chicane — a bridge or whist hand without trumps
contradistinguish — to differentiate by means of contrasting or opposing qualities
differencing — the state or relation of being different; dissimilarity: There is a great difference between the two.

All 17 Synonyms of split hairs