aha

Forms

aha (interjection)^[1][2]

Etymology

It is a lengthened form of the interjection ā (also written ⟨āh⟩).^[1] The grammarian Priscian took the longer form to be the original one, though it is the rarer.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found in Plautus,^[2][3] where a speaker says aha, tacē, “ah, be quiet”, in the Truculentus.^[2]

Semantic evolution

In Plautus it expresses surprise or irony,^[1][3] reproof or refusal, as in aha, minimē “oh no, not at all” in the Bacchides,^[2] and laughter.^[2]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it in the Truculentus, the Rudens, the Bacchides and the Captivi.^[2][3][4]
• 6th century AD – Priscian discusses it beside āh.^[2][4]

Meanings

Interjection

1. Ah!, aha!: an exclamation of surprise or irony.^[1][3]
2. Expressing reproof or refusal: oh no!^[2]
3. Expressing laughter.^[2]

References

1. ^ a b c d Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ a b c d Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de