Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “had” come from?

Had comes from Middle English hadde, from Old English hæfde, from Proto-Germanic habd-, the past tense of the verb meaning to have or hold.

had (English): simple past tense and past participle of have;...

Definitions

  1. simple past tense and past participle of have;...

Ancestry of “had”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishICHInitialism of intracranial hemorrhage; Initialism...
2EnglishichthyophthiriasisA parasitic infection of freshwater fish caused...
3EnglishIchthyophthirius—
4Ancient Greekἰχθύςfish
5Ancient Greekἀετόςeagle; the constellation Aquila; omen
6Proto-Hellenicayyetós—
7Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂ewyetós—
8Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂éwisbird

Words derived from “had”

  • hadn't
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂éwis →