Quick links
guard hair†
DCHP-1 (pre-1967)
Entry from the DCHP-1 (pre-1967)
This entry may contain outdated or offensive information, terms, and examples.
the coarse, glossy hair protecting the soft under-hair on a fur-bearing animal.
See: king hair
Quotations
1703
[. . . a beaver has two lays of hair; one is long and of a shining black color, with a grain as big as that of a Man's Hair; the other is fine and smooth and in Winter fifteen lines long. In a word, the last is the finest Down in the world.]
1930
[Caption] Muskrat fur with the long (guard) hairs plucked.
1956
It took the wool from three [mountain] goats to make one blanket and, after it had been pulled from the hide, the coarse guard hairs had to be pulled out leaving the finer and softer wool.
1962
The fur of the beaver, like that of other animals, may be divided into two parts: the guard hair, up to two inches in length, and the underhair or fur, at most an inch.