# hards

Pronunciation: say "HARDZ" US /hɑɹdz/, UK /hɑːdz/

## Noun

1. Plural of hard. — plural of hard
   - Simple: Plural of hard. Use this form when you mean more than one hard.
   - _Crews beached their dinghies on the stone hards that lined the estuary._
   - _Two of the old hards have washed away since the harbor was rebuilt._
2. The short, coarser fibers of flax or hemp separated from the longer strands, also known as tow.
   - Simple: The short, rough fibers left behind when flax or hemp is combed and cleaned.
   - _She spun the hards into a rough thread suited only for sacking._
   - _The mill sold its hards cheaply for stuffing mattresses and packing crates._

## Origin

From Middle English herdes (plural of herde, "piece of hards"), from Old English heordan ("hards of flax, tow"), tracing back through Proto-Germanic *hezdǭ to the Proto-Indo-European root *kes- ("to comb, card").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/hards (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).