ENGLISH
REFERENCE

hath

v.
US //ˈhæθ// UK //hˈæθ// hath
  1. 1 archaic form of has (v.)
    C2 Proficiency Archaic Literary

    an old word for 'has' used in historical writing and the Bible.

    The archaic third-person singular present indicative of 'have'; now restricted to liturgical, poetic, or historical contexts.

    Example

    The old proverb says that every dog hath its day.

    Example

    The poet writes that 'he who hath a good neighbor hath a good morrow', using the archaic inflection to evoke a sense of timeless wisdom.

    Usage

    Used with third-person singular subjects like 'he', 'she', 'it', or a singular noun.

    Teacher's tip

    Learners will primarily encounter this in the King James Bible or Shakespeare; they should recognize it but never use it in their own modern production.
    Pitfall
    He hath a new car.
    He has a new car.

    Do not use 'hath' in modern conversation or writing; it is only for historical or poetic styles.

Origin

From Middle English hath, heth, hafth, hefth, from Old English hæfþ, hafaþ (“has”), from Proto-Germanic *habaiþi (“has”), equivalent to have + -th. Cognate with Saterland Frisian häd (“has”), West Frisian hat (“has”), Dutch heeft (“has”), Afrikaans het (“has, have”), German Low German hett (“has”), German hat (“has”).

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Last updated June 20, 2026