haitch

== English == === Alternative forms === aitch === Etymology === A nineteenth-century Hiberno-English phonological overlay of the early medieval Irish Gaelic héis and Middle English aitch. Héis is a graphemic mapping of Classical Latin ha, borrowed into Irish Gaelic to represent the autochthonous phoneme. Middle English aitch derives from Old French ache, from Vulgar Latin *acca, from Classical Latin ha. See the Wikipedia article about the letter. === Pronunciation === enPR: hāitch, IPA(key): /ˈheɪt͡ʃ/ enPR: hātch, (dialectal) IPA(key): /ˈheːt͡ʃ/ Rhymes: -eɪtʃ === Noun === haitch (plural haitches) (chiefly Ireland, Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, sometimes proscribed) Alternative form of aitch. ==== Usage notes ==== Is sometimes considered to be h-adding and deemed nonstandard in England, but occurs in Irish English and Australian English as part of the standard language. It is also seen in scattered varieties of Edinburgh, England, and Welsh English, especially among the younger people. ==== Antecedents ==== → Irish: héis ==== Translations ====