had

See also: -had and háð

English

Etymology

From Middle English hadde (preterite), yhad (past participle), from Old English hæfde (first and third person singular preterite), ġehæfd (past participle), from Proto-Germanic *habdaz, past and past participle stem of *habjaną (“to have”), equivalent to have +‎ -ed. Cognate with Dutch had, German hatte, Swedish hade, Icelandic hafði.

Pronunciation

• (stressed) IPA^(key): /hæd/

• Audio (GA)

  (file)

• (had to): IPA^(key): /hæt/
• (unstressed) IPA^(key): /həd/, /əd/
• Rhymes: -æd

Verb

had

1. simple past and past participle of have

   This morning I had an egg for breakfast.

   A good time was had by all.

   • 1814 July, [Jane Austen], chapter I, in Mansfield Park: […], volume I, London: […] T[homas] Egerton, […], →OCLC, page 1:

     About thirty years ago, Miss Maria Ward, of Huntingdon, with only seven thousand pounds, had the good luck to captivate Sir Thomas Bertram, of Mansfield Park, in the county of Northampton, […].

2. (auxiliary, followed by a past participle) Used to form the past perfect tense, expressing an action that took place prior to a reference point that is itself in the past.

   I felt sure that I had seen him before.

   • 2011 April 15, Ben Cooper, The Guardian, London:

     Cooper seems an odd choice, but imagine if they had taken MTV's advice and chosen Robert Pattinson?

3. (auxiliary, now rare) As past subjunctive: would have.
   • 1499, John Skelton, The Bowge of Courte:

     To holde myne honde, by God, I had grete payne; / For forthwyth there I had him slayne, / But that I drede mordre wolde come oute […].

   • 1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 4, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book II, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC:

     Julius Cæsar had escaped death, if going to the Senate-house, that day wherein he was murthered by the Conspirators, he had read a memorial which was presented unto him.

   • 1849, Alfred, Lord Tennyson, In Memoriam, section 24:

     If all was good and fair we met, / This earth had been the Paradise / It never look’d to human eyes / Since our first Sun arose and set.

   • 1898, George Bernard Shaw, Caesar and Cleopatra:

     CAESAR (smiling). Of course I had rather you stayed.

Usage notes

Had, like that, is one of a small number of words to be correctly used twice in succession in English in a non-contrived way, e.g. “He had had several operations previously.”

Derived terms

• had better
• had best

Anagrams

• ADH, AHD, DHA, HDA, dah

Afrikaans

Verb

had

1. preterite of hê; had

Breton

Etymology

From Proto-Brythonic *had, from Proto-Celtic *satos, from *sh₁-tó-, past participle of Proto-Indo-European *seh₁- (“to sow”). Cognate with English seed.

Noun

had m (plural hadoù)

1. (botany) seed

Central Cagayan Agta

Pronoun

had

1. (interrogative) where

Czech

Etymology

Inherited from Old Czech had, from Proto-Slavic *gadъ.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈɦat]

• audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: had
• Rhymes: -at

Noun

had m anim (related adjective hadí)

1. snake

Declension

Declension of had (hard masculine animate)

	singular	plural
nominative	had	hadi, hadové
genitive	hada	hadů
dative	hadovi, hadu	hadům
accusative	hada	hady
vocative	hade	hadi, hadové
locative	hadovi, hadu	hadech
instrumental	hadem	hady

Derived terms

• hadice
• hadí
• hádě

 

Related terms

• hadice f

 

Further reading

• had in Příruční slovník jazyka českého, 1935–1957
• had in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého, 1960–1971, 1989
• had in Internetová jazyková příručka

Danish

Etymology

From Old Norse hatr, from Proto-Germanic *hataz, from Proto-Indo-European *keh₂d- (“hate”).

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ad

Noun

had n (singular definite hadet, not used in plural form)

1. hate, hatred

Related terms

• fremmedhad n
• had-kærligheds-forhold n
• had-kærlighed c
• hade
• hadefuld
• hadegave c
• hadfyldt
• hadsk
• racehad n
• selvhad n

 

Verb

had

1. imperative of hade

Dutch

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑt
• IPA^(key): /ɦɑt/

Verb

had

1. singular past indicative of hebben

Hungarian

Etymology

From Old Hungarian hodu, from Proto-Finno-Ugric *kunta. Cognate with Finnish kunta.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈhɒd]

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɒd

Noun

had (plural hadak)

1. (military) army
2. (military, in compound words or phrases) war

Declension

Inflection (stem in -a-, back harmony)
	singular	plural
nominative	had	hadak
accusative	hadat	hadakat
dative	hadnak	hadaknak
instrumental	haddal	hadakkal
causal-final	hadért	hadakért
translative	haddá	hadakká
terminative	hadig	hadakig
essive-formal	hadként	hadakként
essive-modal	—	—
inessive	hadban	hadakban
superessive	hadon	hadakon
adessive	hadnál	hadaknál
illative	hadba	hadakba
sublative	hadra	hadakra
allative	hadhoz	hadakhoz
elative	hadból	hadakból
delative	hadról	hadakról
ablative	hadtól	hadaktól
non-attributive possessive - singular	hadé	hadaké
non-attributive possessive - plural	hadéi	hadakéi

Possessive forms of had
possessor	single possession	multiple possessions
1st person sing.	hadam	hadaim
2nd person sing.	hadad	hadaid
3rd person sing.	hada	hadai
1st person plural	hadunk	hadaink
2nd person plural	hadatok	hadaitok
3rd person plural	haduk	hadaik

Derived terms

• hadászat
• hadi

 

Compound words

• derékhad
• előhad
• gyerekhad
• hadgyakorlat
• hadjárat
• hadművészet
• hadnagy
• hadsereg
• hadtörténész
• hadüzenet
• hadviselés
• hajóhad
• középhad
• sáskahad
• siserahad
• tartalékhad
• utóhad

 

Expressions

• hadat üzen
• hadat visel
• hadba száll
• hadba szólít
• hadra kel

 

Further reading

• had in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (‘The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language’, abbr.: ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN

Indonesian

Etymology

Inherited from Malay had (“limit, boundary”), from Arabic حَدّ (ḥadd).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈhat/
• Rhymes: -hat
• Hyphenation: had

Noun

had (plural had-had, first-person possessive hadku, second-person possessive hadmu, third-person possessive hadnya)

1. (rare) limit

   Synonyms: batas, limit

2. (rare) boundary

   Synonym: batas

3. (rare) until

   Synonym: hingga

4. (rare) as far as.

   Synonym: sejauh

Derived terms

• berhad
• menghadkan
• terhad

 

Further reading

• “had” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation — Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic Indonesia, 2016.

Jersey Dutch

Alternative forms

• hād
• hāt

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /hat/

Verb

had

1. singular past indicative of hävve; had.
   • 1912, Tijdschrift voor Nederlandsche taal— en letterkunde, volumes 31-32, page 309:

     En kääd'l had twî jongers; […]

     A man had two sons. […]

Malay

Etymology

From Classical Malay [script needed] (had), from Arabic حَدّ (ḥadd).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /had/

Noun

had (plural had-had, informal 1st possessive hadku, 2nd possessive hadmu, 3rd possessive hadnya)

1. limit
   1. (mathematics) A value to which a sequence converges. Equivalently, the common value of the upper limit and the lower limit of a sequence: if the upper and lower limits are different, then the sequence has no limit (i.e., does not converge).

      Synonym: limit (Indonesian)

2. boundary

Synonyms

• batas

Derived terms

• berhad

Descendants

• Indonesian: had

Further reading

• “had” in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu | Malay Literary Reference Centre, Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017.

Matal

Verb

had

1. to walk, go

   Kamkam, kahad à Urusalima aw! (Sləray 21:21)

   Don't go to Jerusalem! (Acts 21:12)

Middle English

Noun

had

1. Alternative form of hod

Old Czech

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *gadъ.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (13^th CE) /ˈɣad/
• IPA^(key): (15^th CE) /ˈɦat/

Noun

had m animal

1. snake

Declension

Declension of had (hard o-stem)

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	had	hady	hadi, hadové
genitive	hada, hadu	hadú	hadóv
dative	hadu, hadovi	hadoma	hadóm
accusative	had, hada	hady	hady
vocative	hade	hady	hadi, hadové
locative	hadě, hadu, hadovi	hadú	hadiech
instrumental	hadem	hadoma	hady

This table shows the most common forms around the 13th century.
See also Appendix:Old Czech nouns and Appendix:Old Czech pronunciation.

Descendants

• Czech: had

Further reading

• Jan Gebauer (1903–1916) “had”, in Slovník staročeský (in Czech), Prague: Česká grafická společnost "unie", Česká akademie císaře Františka Josefa pro vědy, slovesnost a umění

Old English

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *haidu, from Proto-Germanic *haiduz (“state, condition, rank, person”). Akin to Old Norse heiðr (“dignity, honor”), Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐌹𐌳𐌿𐍃 (haidus, “manner”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /xɑːd/, [hɑːd]

Noun

hād m

1. person, individual
2. a character
   • c. 1011, Byrhtferth, Manual‎^[1]:

     Þonne sē sċop inn ġebringþ ōðre hādas þe wiþ hine wordliġen swelċe hīe him andswariġen, þonne biþ sēo ġesetnes "ġemǣnu" oþþe "ġemenġedu" ġeċīeġed.

     When the poet introduces other characters who talk to him as if they're answering him, the composition is called "common" or "mixed."

3. individuality
4. rank, status
   • 9th century, the Blickling Homilies, "The Third Sunday in Lent"

     ġehwelċes hādes menn

     people of every rank

5. a person of the Trinity
   • c. 992, Ælfric, "Of the Catholic Faith"

     Nis sē Fæder āna Þrīnes, oþþe sē Sunu Þrīnes, oþþe sē Hālga Gāst Þrīnes, ac þās þrī hādas sind ān god on ānre godcundnesse.

     The Trinity is not the Father alone, or the Son, or the Holy Spirit; these three persons are one god in one godhead.

6. honor, dignity
7. office (esp religious)
8. state, condition; nature, manner
9. gender
   • c. 992, Ælfric, "On the Nativity of the Holy Virgins"

     Sēo ġelaðung is ġegaderod of ǣġðres hādes mannum, þæt is, werhādes and wīfhādes.

     The church is gathered from people of each gender, that is, the male sex and the female sex.

10. (grammar) grammatical person
    • c. 995, Ælfric, Excerptiones de Arte Grammatica Anglice

      Þrī hādas sind worda. Sē forma hād is þe spricþ be him selfum ānum ("iċ seċġe", oþþe mid ōðrum mannum on maniġfealdum ġetæle, "wē seċġaþ"). Sē ōðer hād is þe sē forma spricþ tō ("þū sæġst", oþþe maniġfealdlīċe "ġē seċġaþ"). Sē þridda hād is be þǣm þe sē forma hād spricþ tō þǣm ōðrum hāde ("hē sæġþ", oþþe maniġfealdlīċe "hīe seċġaþ").

      Verbs have three persons. The first person talks about himself alone ("I say", or with other people in the plural, "we say"). The second person is whoever the first person talks to ("you say", or in the plural "y'all say"). The third person is whoever the first person talks about to the second person ("he says", or in the plural "they say").

11. race; kindred, family; tribe, group
12. choir

Declension

Declension of had (strong a-stem)

Case	Singular	Plural
nominative	hād	hādas
accusative	hād	hādas
genitive	hādes	hāda
dative	hāde	hādum

Related terms

• -hād

Descendants

• Middle English: hod, had, hade, hede, hode
  • English: hade, hede (obsolete)
  • Scots: hade (obsolete)

Slovak

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *gadъ.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ɦat]

Noun

had m anim (genitive singular hada, nominative plural hady, genitive plural hadov, declension pattern of dub)

1. snake, serpent

Declension

Declension of had

	singular	plural
nominative	had	hady
genitive	hada	hadov
dative	hadovi	hadom
accusative	hada	hady
locative	hadovi	hadoch
instrumental	hadom	hadmi

Derived terms

• hadí
• hadica f

Further reading

• “had”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2024

Sumerian

Romanization

had

1. Romanization of 𒉺 (ḫad)

Turkish

Etymology

From Ottoman Turkish حد (hadd), from Arabic حَدّ (ḥadd).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /hadʲ/, [hɐdʲ]

Noun

had (definite accusative haddi, plural hadler or hudut)

1. limit
2. boundary

Declension

Inflection
Nominative	had
Definite accusative	haddi
	Singular	Plural
Nominative	had	hadler
Definite accusative	haddi	hadleri
Dative	hadde	hadlere
Locative	hadde	hadlerde
Ablative	hadden	hadlerden
Genitive	haddin	hadlerin

Related terms

• hiddet
• mahdut
• tahdit

Upper Sorbian

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *gadъ.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈxad/

Noun

had m animal

1. snake, serpent

Further reading

• “had” in Soblex

Uzbek

Etymology

From Arabic حَدّ (ḥadd, “limit”). Compare Turkish had.

Noun

had (plural hadlar)

1. limit

Welsh

Etymology

From Middle Welsh hat, from Proto-Brythonic *had, from Proto-Celtic *satos, from Proto-Indo-European *sh₁-tó-, past participle of *seh₁- (“to sow”). Cognate with English seed.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /haːd/
• Rhymes: -aːd

Noun

had m pl or m sg (singulative hedyn, plural hadau)

1. seed, seeds (collectively)
2. semen, sperm

Derived terms

• hadblanhigyn m (“seedling”)
• hadog (“seeded”, adjective)

Related terms

• hadu (“to sow”)

Further reading

• R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “had”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies

Yola

Verb

had

1. Alternative form of hadh (“had”)
   • 1867, GLOSSARY OF THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, page 79:

     Ich woul ich had.

     I wish I had.

   • 1867, “A YOLA ZONG”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 3, page 84:

     Yith Muzleare had ba hole, t'was mee Tommeen,

     If Good-for-little had been buried, it had been my Tommy,

   • 1867, “A YOLA ZONG”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 7, page 86:

     An aar w' had Treblere an sturdy Cournug.

     And there we had Treblere and sturdy Cournug.

   • 1867, “ABOUT AN OLD SOW GOING TO BE KILLED”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 3, page 106:

     Eee crappès o' a shearde ich had a cousaane.

     In the bushes of the gap I had a hole to go through.

   • 1867, “SONG”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 2, page 108:

     Hea had no much wut,

     He had not much wit,

References

• Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828) William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867