English

hairscale

hair + scale

A compound of hair + scale

Proto-Germanic *hērą

Proto-West Germanic *hār

Old English hǣr

Middle English her ‘a hair’

English hair

Proto-Indo-European *skend- ‘to jump up, ascend’

Proto-Indo-European *(s)kn̥d-sleh₂

Proto-Italic *skand-slā

Latin scāla ‘ladder; stairs’

Middle English scale ‘ladder’

English scale

Today it means

noun A scale that is long and thin, resembling a hair.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / hairscale