An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/hehr

by Friedrich Kluge

hehr, adj., ‘exalted, sublime, sacred,’ from MidHG. hêr, adj., ‘distinguished, exalted, proud, glad,’ also ‘sacred,’ OHG. and OLG. hêr, ‘distinguished, exalted, splendid.’ The corresponding compar. is used in G. in the sense of ‘dominus’; comp. Herr, lit. ‘the more distinguished, venerable’ (orig. current in the Teut. languages of Mid. Europe only). The orig. sense of the adj. is probably ‘venerable,’ for the E. and Scand. adj. has the meaning ‘grey, hoary, old man’; OIc. hárr, AS. hâr, E. hoar (and the lengthened form hoary), ‘grey.’ Goth. *haira- (neu. sing. mas. *hairs) is wanting. The common assumption of a Teut. root hai, ‘to glitter, shine,’ from which an adj. hai-ra- can be derived with the double sense given above, is supported by OIc. heið, ‘clearness of the sky’ (see under heiter), as well as by Goth. hais (dat. plur. haizam), n., ‘torch.’ With the root hai (from pre-Teut. koi), Sans. ké-tú-s, m., ‘light, lustre, torch,’ is connected.