huh
This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 12:32. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Pronunciation
- IPA: /hʌ/ (UK); /hʌ/, /hə/ (US)[1]
Etymology
It is a natural exclamation, imitative of a grunt.[2][3][4]
Earliest recorded meaning
A natural utterance expressing some suppressed feeling: 1608 in the OED and MWU,[5][2] about 1600 in Etymonline,[6] the early 17th century in NODE and SOED.[4][3]
Semantic evolution
It came to express surprise, derision, contempt, indifference or enquiry,[3][7][8] and is often tacked on to a statement to invite agreement or turn it into a question, as in give us a chance, huh?.[3][7]
Timeline
Modern meaning
Interjection
- Used to express surprise, contempt or indifference.
- Used to ask a question, or to ask for something to be repeated.
Word family
- uh-huh
Related words
- hmm
- eh
Usage notes
In Northumberland huh was also the groan of a blacksmith delivering a blow.[9]
References
- ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
- ^ a b c d Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ a b Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ a b Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
- ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
- ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
- ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)