Etymology Dictionary

HAGGARD (1),  wild, said of a hawk.  (F.,—G.)   Orig. the name of a wild, untrained hawk.   'As hagard hauke;' Spenser, F. Q. i. 11. 19.   'For haggard hawkes mislike an emptie hand;' Gascoigne's Flowers, Memories, John Vaughan's Theme, l. 26.—O. F. hagard, 'hagard, wild, strange, froward...Faulcon hagard, a hagard, a faulcon that preyed for herself long before she was taken;' Cot.   β. The orig. sense is 'living in a hedge,' hence, wild.   Formed with suffix -ard (of G. origin) from M. H. G. hag (O. H. G. hac), a hedge; see Hedge, Haw.   ➩ Quite distinct from haggard (2), though perhaps from the same root.

HAGGARD (2),  lean, hollow-eyed, meagre.  (E.)   This word is certainly a corruption of hagged, confused in spelling by the influence of the word above.   'The ghostly prudes with hagged face;' Gray, A Long Story, 4th stanza from end.   Wedgwood cites from Lestrange's Fables:  'A hagged carrion of a wolf and a jolly sort of dog with good flesh upon 's back fell into company.'   The orig. sense is 'hag-like,' or 'witch-like;' formed with suffix -ed from Hag, q.v.