harass

Etymology

The verb is derived from Middle French, Old French harasser (“to exhaust, tire out, wear out; to harry, torment, vex”) (modern French harasser (“to exhaust, tire out, wear out”)), possibly from Old French harer (“to set a dog on”), from Frankish *hara (“here, hither”) (a command for a dog to attack), from Proto-Germanic *hē₂r (“here, in this place”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱe (“here; this”) + *ís (“the (person or thing just named)”) + *-r. The noun is derived from the verb.

verb

1. To annoy (someone) frequently or systematically; to pester.
   For it is a stout calf, ripe for the temples and altar [to be sacrificed], and to be sprinkled with wine; who is now ashamed to draw the dugs of his mother, and who harasseth the oaks with his budding horn. 1829, Juvenal, “Satire XII”, in William Smart, transl., Juvenal and Persius, Literally Translated for the Use of Students, London: […] [Richard Gilbert] for Whittaker, Treacher, & Co.[…], →OCLC, page 125
   Some who dwell in wildernesses, / who seek and occupy, by their own wills, homes in dark caverns, these await / the heavenly dwelling-place; he who grudgeth them life, / oft bringeth hateful terror upon them; / sometimes he showeth them horror, sometimes vain glory; / the wily murderer hath power of both, / and harasseth these lonely-dwellers; […] A modern English translation of a 10th-century Old English text. 1895, “Saint Guthlac. A.”, in Israel Gollancz, editor, The Exeter Book, an Anthology of Anglo-Saxon Poetry[…], part I (Poems I–VIII), London: [F]or the Early English Text Society, by Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co.,[…], →OCLC, part I, lines 81–88, page 109
   1. (specifically) To persistently bother (someone, or a group of people) physically or psychologically when such behaviour is illegal and/or unwanted, especially over an extended period.
      In February 2004, we developed a technique using compressed air to physically and audibly harass the birds. […] One person slowly (< 5 mph) drove a pick-up truck through the airport terminal at dusk while the second person sat on a bench in the truck bed and directed the compressed air from the pipe into the canopy to harass starlings attempting to enter the roost site. 2005, “Compressed air, wooden clappers, and other non-traditional methods for dispersing European starlings from an urban roost.”, in The Eleventh Wildlife Damage Management Conference
2. To put excessive burdens upon (someone); to subject (someone) to anxieties.
   To harass good people is no different than speaking ill of them.
   The ſoul that dies this death, is like a loving wife matched with a rigorous huſband: ſhe does what ſhe can to pleaſe him, yet he is never pleaſed; but toſſeth, haraſſeth, and beats her, till ſhe break her heart, and death ſets her free: […] 1761, Thomas Boston, “State II. Namely, the State of Nature or of Entire Depravation. Head I. The Sinfulness of Man’s Natural State. [Of the Corruption of the Will.]”, in Human Nature in Its Four-fold State[…], 12th edition, Edinburgh: […] David Gray[…], →OCLC, page 80
   He, who harasseth his household, shall inherit the wind; / And the fool shall be the servant of the wise in heart. 1831, William French, George Skinner, transl., A New Translation of the Proverbs of Solomon from the Original Hebrew[…], Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: […] J. Smith printer to the University; London: John Murray[…], →OCLC, Proverbs XI:29, page 37
   Zeal without judgment is an evil, though it be zeal unto good; / […] / By a shoulder to the wheel downhill harasseth the labouring beast, / And where an obstruction were needed, will harm by an ill judged thrusting-on. 1839, Martin F[arquhar] Tupper, “Of Discretion”, in Proverbial Philosophy: A Book of Thoughts and Arguments, Originally Treated, 3rd edition, London: Joseph Rickerby,[…], →OCLC, pages 147–148
3. To trouble (someone, or a group of people) through repeated military-style attacks.
   The tradition of this Yoga has now for a long time been broken here, O Arjuna, who harassest thy foes, like the sun, by the heat of thy prowess. 1897, “Fourth Discourse. Jnana-Yoga.”, in Alladi Mahadeva Sastry, transl., The Bhagavad Gita with the Commentary of Sri Sankaracharya[…], 7th edition, Madras, Tamil Nadu: Samata Books, published 1977, →OCLC, page 119
4. (obsolete) Often followed by out: to fatigue or tire (someone) with exhausting and repeated efforts.
   As the waters wear to pieces the stones, / As their overflowings sweep the soil from the land,— / So consumest thou the hope of man; / Thou harassest him continually till he perish; / Thou weariest out his frame, and despatchest him. 1812, John Mason Good, “Part II. First Series of Controversy.”, in The Book of Job, Literally Translated from the Original Hebrew, and Restored to Its Natural Arrangement:[…], London: […] [F]or Black, Parry, and Co.[…], by R. Watts, Broxbourn Press, →OCLC, Job XIV:19–20
   '[T]is true, that he neither harasseth his vassals from morn to eve by hard labour and exaction, nor committeth them to the dungeon, when they can no longer work nor pay. But to knights of our calling, Monsieur Robichon, he is as ill disposed as the worst of them:— […] By an unknown author in imitation of Walter Scott’s Tales of My Landlord (1816–1832). 1825, Jedediah Cleishbotham [pseudonym], “Substance of Some Traditions Respecting Grimmfer the Wizard”, in New Landlord’s Tales; or, Jedediah in the South.[…], volume II, London: […] [S. Gosnell] for T[homas] Hookham,[…], →OCLC, chapter I, pages 126–127

noun

1. (archaic) Harassment; pestering.