Word Geek Wednesday: Hirsute

Welcome to Word Geek Wednesday, where we explore words in the context of pop culture! Our word today is...

hir·sute /ˈhərˌso͞ot,ˈhirˌso͞ot/ adj. hairy

When you want to describe your hairy self to a more discerning crowd, you use the word "hirsute", from the Latin hirsutus meaning "shaggy" or "bristly". This means this isn't your normal hairy. This is some next level stuff!

Hirsute men are known for their virility, which probably makes guys like Cousin It and Captain Caveman a hit with the ladies.

And yes, by implication, it means wrestlers like George "The Animal" Steel were too.

In comic books, especially in the Marvel Comics universe, you probably couldn't walk a few feet without tripping over someone's hirsute personage. 

DC Comics, on the other hand, has someone literally named Shaggy Man. So no one is safe!

Remember what I said about virility? How apt that DC's greatest superhero ever Superman is the peak of hirsute masculinity under the deft pencils of Dan Jurgens?

For all the faults of Man of Steel, Warner Bros. understood the assignment by casting a just-as-hirsute Henry Cavill, who looks like a Dan Jurgens panel come to life.

Have a word you would like me to check out? Leave them in the comments below!