Rough and raspy in sound, like a voice that's tired, damaged, or affected by illness or shouting.
From Old Norse 'hás' (hoarse). The word has been used in English since before 1000 AD, always referring to rough or harsh vocal sounds. Related to 'harsh' conceptually.
Your vocal cords are two tiny folds that vibrate to make sound—when they get inflamed or tired, they can't vibrate smoothly, making your voice sound rough and gravelly like you've been yelling all day!
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.