Literary notes about Hoary (AI summary)
The word “hoary” is frequently used to evoke an aura of age, wisdom, and antiquity, both literally and metaphorically. In many texts it describes physical traits—such as grey or snow-tipped hair indicative of advanced years ([1], [2])—while in others it characterizes ancient landscapes, venerable institutions, or time-honored ideas that seem imbued with the weight of the ages ([3], [4]). Whether portraying the decay of a once-splendid ruin or emphasizing the dignity and gravitas of old age—as in passages that speak of hoary traditions and relics—the term consistently bridges the tangible and the symbolic, inviting readers to reflect on the deep passage of time and the beauty of well-worn experience ([5], [6]).
- Happier the son, whose hoary sire is bless'd With humble affluence, and domestic rest!
— from The Odyssey by Homer - It was the hoary-headed pundit who made this charming observation.
— from Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda - “The early history of Damascus is shrouded in the mists of a hoary antiquity.”
— from The Innocents Abroad by Mark Twain - A venerable building—grey, even in the midst of the hoary landscape.
— from The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens - As a rule, the rains had beaten down parts of some of the houses, and this gave the village the aspect of a mouldering and hoary ruin.
— from Following the Equator: A Journey Around the World by Mark Twain - It is associated in the mind with ideas of order, of quiet, of sober well-established principles, of hoary usage and reverend custom.
— from The Sketch-Book of Geoffrey Crayon by Washington Irving
