haïr

Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word haïr. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word haïr, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say haïr in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word haïr you have here. The definition of the word haïr will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofhaïr, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
See also: hair

French

Etymology

Inherited from Middle French haïr (to hate), from Old French hair (to hate) (compare Old French enhadir (to become filled with hate)), from Frankish *hattjan (to hate), from Proto-Germanic *hatjaną (to hunt, rush, attack), from Proto-Indo-European *keh₂d- (strong emotion). Akin to Old High German hezzen (to hunt, pursue), Old English hettan (to pursue, persecute), Old English hete (hate, hatred). More at hate, heinous.

Pronunciation

Verb

haïr

  1. (transitive) to hate

Usage notes

  • In Standard French, the h of haïr is aspirated; thus, elisions of vowels and liaisons are not possible, i.e. “I hate you (sg.)” is je te hais, not je t’hais.
  • In Canadian French, the past historic is used as the present tense for the first, second, and third person singular subject pronouns. Also, the "h" is not aspirated, therefore making elisions possible. For example: "I hate you" is "je t'haïs." Note that this usage is vernacular and not standard. Some Canadian French speakers may even say "je t'haguis", which is also nonstandard and considered even more informal/basilectal than "je t'haïs."
  • In Louisiana, the "h" retains its pronunciation as the consonant /h/.

Conjugation

This verb is spelled as if conjugated like finir, but has a diaeresis throughout its conjugation (including where the circumflex would normally be used) except in the singular indicative present, whose forms are pronounced /ɛ/ in Standard French instead of /ai/, a pronunciation nonetheless often found in informal speech.

See also

Further reading

Middle French

Verb

haïr

  1. (transitive) to hate

Old French

Verb

haïr

  1. Alternative form of hair

Usage notes