Standard Lemma guide

tharf

adj · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈθɑː(ɹ)f/
  • rhymes with -ɑː(ɹ)f

1

adj

Meaning 1

Stiff, unsocial, rough in manner.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: UK, obsolete, regional

Examples

  • a tharf person

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

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).