Description:

The term 'harah' as a noun is a general term for snakes. It is also a slang term for penis.

As a verb, 'harah' is used metaphorically to mean to queue or to form a line. As such, it is an intransitive pali verb taking an absolutive subject which is the element or elements that are lining up.

Based on the analogy with snakes, which are not popular animals, and penises, which stand as metaphors for ugly masculine-associated qualitties in many languages, 'harah' has grown to be a universally-accepted term of abuse that approximately translates as dick, jerk, asshole, etc. It carries a connotation of self-serving deviousness as well.

Harah has an irregular derivation to the modifier class, 'haras', which is generally used exclusively as a term of abuse (think 'dickish').