Home › Glossary › Letter H

haps

Archaic Terms
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Chances or happenings; an old-fashioned word for events or fortunes.

Detailed Definition
Haps is an archaic or literary plural related to chance, fate, or what happens to someone. In Hardy’s line it suggests the limited, ordinary fortunes life may offer, fitting the poem’s plainspoken, reflective tone.
Example
Example in poetry:
“Just neutral-tinted haps and such” uses haps, an archaic plural meaning chances or happenings; “By happy hap, the lost key turned beneath her hand” preserves the word’s older sense; Shakespearean-era diction often uses hap for fortune, good or ill; A modern poet may choose haps to create a playful, antique voice
Additional Notes
"Haps" is an old literary word for chances or events, and it is uncommon enough that readers may not know it from the quoted line.; Found in the poem, He Never Expected Much by Thomas Hardy
Also Known As
happenings occurrences events
Skip to main content