hare

From Middle English hare, from Old English hara, tracing back through Proto-West Germanic and Proto-Germanic to a Proto-Indo-European root reconstructed as *ḱh₂s-én-. That root is possibly related to or influenced by Proto-Germanic *haswaz, meaning 'grey.'

The word has stayed remarkably stable in form and meaning, referring to the animal across Old English, Middle English, and modern English.

It shares a root shape with Old English hasu and Middle High German heswe, both meaning 'pale, dull' — suggesting the animal may once have been named for its grayish coat rather than anything else about it.