Tharf
//ˈθɑː(ɹ)f// adj
adj ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Adjective
- 1 Stiff, unsocial, rough in manner. British, obsolete, regional
"a tharf person"
Etymology
From Middle English therf, from Old English þeorf (“unleavened, fresh, skim”), from Proto-West Germanic *þerb, from Proto-Germanic *þerbaz (“unleavened, simple”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)terbh-, *(s)trebh- (“rigid, stiff, tight”). Cognate with German derb (“rough, coarse, rude”), Old Frisian therve, Middle Dutch derf, Middle High German derp, Icelandic þjarfur (“unleavened”) and Ancient Greek τέρπω (térpō).
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.