Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word
hain't. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
hain't, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
hain't in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
hain't you have here. The definition of the word
hain't will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
hain't, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Pronunciation
Contraction
hain’t
- (dialectal, archaic) has not
1913, Eleanor H. Porter, chapter 8, in Pollyanna, L.C. Page, →OCLC:"But he never speaks ter anybody, child—he hain't for years, I guess, except when he just has to, for business, and all that."
- (dialectal, archaic) have not
1884 December 10, Mark Twain [pseudonym; Samuel Langhorne Clemens], chapter VIII, in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: (Tom Sawyer’s Comrade) , London: Chatto & Windus, , →OCLC:“Doan’ hurt me — don’t! I hain’t ever done no harm to a ghos’. I alwuz liked dead people, en done all I could for ’em. You go en git in de river agin, whah you b’longs, en doan’ do nuffn to Ole Jim, ’at ’uz awluz yo’ fren’.”
- (dialectal, hypercorrect) ain’t
Usage notes
Hain’t originally derived from han’t, and meant has not and have not. In certain h-adding modern dialects, hain’t is synonymous with, and a replacement for, ain’t in all its uses.
Anagrams