hirsute
adjective

- having a lot of hair, especially on the face or body

Cambridge Dictionary

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WORD ORIGIN

The word "hirsute" comes from Latin hirsutus meaning "shaggy, bristly, rough”, derived from hirtus meaning "hairy, shaggy”.

The word entered English in the early 1620s, directly from Latin, and was initially used in botanical and zoological descriptions. Its usage gradually expanded to include descriptions of humans with notably abundant hair.

The Latin root hirtus is related to the Proto-Indo-European root ghers- meaning "to stand out, bristle”, which also gave us:
- The word "horror" (originally referring to hair standing on end from fear)
- "Horripilation" (goosebumps)
- The "hirs-" in "hirsutism" (a medical condition of excessive hair growth)

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SHARP BUSINESS
The Multi-Billion Dollar Shaving Industry

When prehistoric humans first scraped their faces with sharpened shells and flint, they began a cultural trend still continuing today.

From those crude beginnings to today's multi-blade razors and laser removal systems, our relationship with body hair reflects how people feel about personal identity, beauty, and social belonging.

Modern shaving technologies offer unprecedented control over how we shape our appearance. Companies like Philips and Braun now market AI-powered razors that learn individual growth patterns, and the Gillette Labs “Heated Razor”, even provides a hot-towel experience with every stroke.

Yet, the opposite can hold true. The Covid pandemic transformed male grooming habits: when Zoom replaced office meetings, hirsute suddenly became cool, leading to what economists called "the great beard boom of 2020” with celebrities like Jason Momoa and Chris Hemsworth popularizing the rugged look and giving rise to the word “Beardfluencer”,… OUCH! That smarts!!

Helga & Paul Smith

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SYNONYMS

bearded, bristly, bushy, downy, feathered, feathery, fleecy, flossy, furry, fuzzy, hairy, HIRSUTE, hispid, hypertrichotic, matted, mossy, overgrown, piliferous, pilose, plush, shaggy, stubbly, thick, tufted, unshaven, untrimmed, velvety, woolly

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SMUGGLE OWAD into an English conversation, say something like:

“The popular HIRSUTE look is an interesting counter-reaction to the fresh-faced, ‘smoothie stars’ of the past.

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P L E A S E   S U P P O R T   O W A D

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Paul, Helga, & Jenny Smith

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