huh English · revision 6739

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=onomatopoeia|attested=1608}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /hʌ/ ''(UK)''; /hʌ/, /hə/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a natural exclamation, imitative of a grunt.^(MWU 2024)^(SOED 2002)^(NODE 1998)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A natural utterance expressing some suppressed feeling: 1608 in the OED and MWU,^(OED 1989)^(MWU 2024) about 1600 in Etymonline,^(Etymonline) the early 17th century in NODE and SOED.^(NODE 1998)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ It came to express surprise, derision, contempt, indifference or enquiry,^(SOED 2002)^(AHD)^(Collins 2023) and is often tacked on to a statement to invite agreement or turn it into a question, as in ''give us a chance, huh?''.^(SOED 2002)^(AHD)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1608 – a natural utterance.^(OED 1989)^(MWU 2024)

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+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Interjection===

+ # Used to express [[surprise]], [[contempt]] or indifference.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Used to ask a question, or to ask for something to be repeated.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[uh-huh]]

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+ ==Related words==

+ * [[hmm]]

+ * [[eh]]

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+ ==Usage notes==

+ In Northumberland huh was also the groan of a blacksmith delivering a blow.^(Wright 1898)

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+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}