hair shirt
noun
a garment of coarse haircloth, worn next to the skin as a penance by ascetics and penitents.
self-imposed punishment, suffering, sacrifice, or penance.
Origin of hair shirt
1350–1400; cf.
hair
Words nearby hair shirt
hair papilla,
hair restorer,
hair root,
hair seal,
hair sheep,
hair shirt,
hair slide,
hair space,
hair spray,
hair stroke,
hair style
British Dictionary definitions for hair shirt
hair shirt
noun
a shirt made of haircloth worn next to the skin as a penance
a secret trouble or affliction
Idioms and Phrases with hair shirt
hair shirt
A self-imposed punishment or penance, as in I apologized a dozen times—do you want me to wear a hair shirt forever? This term, mentioned from the 13th century on, alludes to wearing a coarse, scratchy hair shirt, the practice of religious ascetics. Its figurative use dates from the mid-1800s.