harry

Etymology

From Middle English herien, harien, from Old English herġian, from Proto-West Germanic *harjōn, from Proto-Germanic *harjōną, from *harjaz (“army”), from Proto-Indo-European *koryos, from *ker- (“army”). Cognates See also Walloon hairyî, Old French hairier, harier; also Saterland Frisian ferheerje, German verheeren (“to harry, devastate”), Swedish härja (“ravage, harry”); also Old English here, West Frisian hear, Dutch heer, German Heer); also Middle Irish cuire (“army”), Lithuanian kãrias (“army; war”), Old Church Slavonic кара (kara, “strife”), Ancient Greek κοίρανος (koíranos, “chief, commander”), Old Persian [script needed] (kāra, “army”)). More at here (“army”).

verb

1. To plunder, pillage, assault.
2. To make repeated attacks on an enemy.
3. To strip, lay waste, ravage.
   A red squirrel had harried the nest of a wood thrush. 1896, John Burroughs, Birds and bees and other studies in nature
4. To harass, bother or distress with demands, threats, or criticism.
   Chelsea also struggled to keep possession as QPR harried and chased at every opportunity, giving their opponents no time on the ball. 23 October 2011, Becky Ashton, “QPR 1 – 0 Chelsea”, in BBC Sport
   The Colombians' ire was raised even more 10 minutes later when the referee showed a yellow card to [James] Rodríguez – who was apoplectic at the decision – for an innocuous trip that was, as Rodríguez vociferously pointed out with multiple hand gestures, a first offense compared with Fernandinho's harrying. 5 July 2014, Sam Borden, “For bellicose Brazil, payback carries heavy price: Loss of Neymar [International New York Times version: Brazil and referee share some blame for Neymar's injury: Spaniard's failure to curb early pattern of fouls is seen as major factor (7 July 2014, p. 13)]”, in The New York Times