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H (há) is the eighth letter. In the old Runic alphabet it was represented by RUNE and RUNE, which are used indiscriminately (but never RUNE or RUNE): RUNE and RUNE both occur on the Golden horn, the former once, the latter twice. This Rune was no doubt borrowed from the Greek or Latin. In the later common Runic alphabet this character was replaced by RUNE (rarely RUNE), which we may infer was taken from the Greek RUNE (the g of the old Runic alphabet) marked with a perpendicular stroke down the middle, rather than from the Latin RUNE (see Ritschl's essay in the Rheinisches Museum, 1869, p. 22); yet the old form RUNE is now and then found on the oldest of the later monuments, e.g. the stones from Snoldelöv, Höjetostrup, and Helnæs (Thorsen 15, 17, 335), on which monuments the RUNE is used for a: in some inscriptions RUNE serves both for h and soft g. The name of the Rune h was Hagall or Hagl, an Anglo-Saxon form, explained as meaning hail, hagl er kaldast korna (hail is the coldest of grains), in the Norse Runic poem; cp. hägl byð hwitust corna in the Anglo-Saxon poem, which is the prototype of the Norse. These names in the Anglo-Saxon and Norse poems are in no way derived from the form of the Rune, but are merely alike to the modern rhymes in English ABC books, -- 'B is a Baker' or the like. The Hagall was the first of the second group of Runes, H n i a s, which was therefore called Hagals-ætt, the family of Hagal (cp. introduction to F).
A. PRONUNCIATION AND SPELLING. -- H is sounded as in English hard, house: the aspirate is still sounded in hl, hr, hn much as in the Welsh ll, rh: the hv is in the west and north of Icel. sounded as kv; but in the south and east the distinction is kept between hv and kv (hver a kettle and kver a quire, hvölum whales and kvölum torments), as also in writing; and hv is sounded like wh in Northern English; in a small part of eastern Icel. it is sounded like Greek χ (hvalr as χalr, hvað as χað), and this is probably the oldest and truest representation of the hv sound. II. the h is dropped, 1. in the article inn, in, it, for hinn, hin, hit, which is often spelt so in old MSS. β. in the personal pronoun hann, hún if following after another word, e.g. ef 'ann (ef hann), ef 'ún (ef hún), þó 'onum (þó honum), látt' 'ann vera (láttu hann vera), segð' 'enn' að koma (segðu henni að koma); this is the constant pronunciation of the present time, but in writing the h is kept: whereas, at the beginning of a sentence the h is sounded, e.g. hann (hón) kom, he (she) came, but kom 'ann ? (if asking the question). γ. in a few words such as álfa and hálfa, óst and host (cp. hósta), ökulbrækr and hökulbraekr. 2. in the latter part of such compounds as have nearly become inflexions, as ein-arðr for ein-harðr: in -úð, -ýðgi, -ygð (Gramm. p. xxxiii, col. 1); elsk-ogi, var-ugi, öl-ogi, from hugr; örv-endr, tröll-endr, gram-endr, from hendr; litar-apt = litar-hapt: in -ald = hald, handar-ald, haf-ald; lík-amr = lík-hamr, hár-amr = hár-hamr; skauf-ali, rang-ali, from hali; at-æfi = at-hæfi, and perhaps in auð-œfi, ör-œfi, from hóf or hœfi; and-œfa = and-hœfa, to respond; hnapp-elda = hnapp-helda: in pr. names in -arr, -alli, -eiðr, -ildr, for -harr = herr, -halli, -heiðr, -hildr, (Ein-arr, Þór-alli, Ragn-eiðr, Yngv-ildr, etc.) In a few words, as hjúpr, and derivatives from júpr, hilmr and ilmr, hopa and opa, h seems to have been added. In some of the cases above cited both forms are still heard, but the apocopate are more usual. III. h is neither written nor sounded as final or medial, and has in all such cases been absorbed by the preceding vowel or simply dropped (see Gramm. p. xxx, col. 1). IV. some MSS., especially Norse, use a double form gh and th to mark a soft or aspirate sound, e.g. sagha and saga, thing and þing; especially in inflexive syllables, -ith = -it, etc. V. a curious instance of spelling (as in Welsh) rh for hr is found occasionally in Runes, e.g. Rhruulfr for Hrúlfr, Thorsen 335; to this corresponds the English spelling wh for hw, in white, wheat, whale, where, whence, why, whelp, whine, whet, whirl, wharf, wheel, while, whim, = Icel. hvítr, hveiti, hvalr, hvar, hvaðan, hvé, hválpr, hvína, hvetja, hvirfill, hvarf, hvel, hvíld, hvima, etc.
B. REMARKS, CHANGES, ETC. -- In Icel. h is used as an initial letter most largely next to s; in modern Teutonic languages it has been greatly reduced through the dropping of the aspiration before the liquids l, n, r, and before v, whereby all words in hl, hn, hr, and hv have been transferred to the liquids and to v (see Gramm. p. xxxvi, signif. II. β); the h in these words is essential to the etymology, and was in olden times common to all Teutonic languages, but in Scandinavia it was lost about the 11th or 12th century, so that not a single instance of hl, hn, hr is on record in any MS. written in Norway; though old Norwegian poets of the 10th century used it in alliteration, so it must have been sounded at that time; h in hl, hn, hr is therefore a test of a MS. being Icelandic and not Norse. In modern Icel. pronunciation the h aspirate has been lost in two or three words, as leiti for hleyti, a part, a word which was borrowed from Norway about the 14th century; rót = hrót, a roof: it is a matter of course that the h is dropped in words which were borrowed from the English not earlier than the 12th century, e. g. lávarðr. Early Engl. lauerd (lord), but A. S. hlâford. II. the h has been added in a few words to which it does not rightly belong, viz. in hneiss and hneisa for neiss and neisa; hnýsa for nýsa; hreifr (glad) for reifr; hniðra (to lower) for niðra (niðr); hlykkr (and hlykkjóttr), a curve, for lykkr (cp. lykkja, a noose); hrjóta for rjóta, to snort; hlað, a lace, cp. Lat. laqueus; hnestla for nestla, a loop. β. in a few instances both forms are used to form double words, in hrífa and rífa, Lat. rapere; hrasa and rasa, to stumble; rata ( = Goth. vraton), to find the way, but hrata, to fall (cp. Vsp. 52); hrjá and rjá, to vex. 2. the h seems to be a substitute, α. for an old v, in hrekja, to toss about, to wreck, akin to Goth. vrekan, Icel. reka; in hreiðr, a nest, Dan. rede, cp. Engl. wreath, Goth. vriþus. β. in modern pronunciation h is a substitute for g in the words hneggja, hnegg, for gneggja, gnegg; þver-hnípt for þver-gnipt. γ. for k in hnífr, hnúi, hnefi, hnöttr, hnútr, hnörr, hnakkr, hnjúkr, hnoða, hnappr, for knífr, knúi, knefi ..., knoða, knappr; this spelling is found in MSS. of the 15th century, e.g. the Hrokkinskinna passim (see letter K). In all these cases the h is etymologically wrong; in some of the words above (as in hneisa) it is found even in very old MSS., e.g. the Mork.; but the true etymology is seen from the alliteration in old poems, e.g. Hm. 48, 140, Hðm. 26 (raut, reginkunni); Stor. 13 (Nýsumk hins | ok hygg at því); Edda 105 (reifr gékk herr und hlífar | hizig ...); but not so in modern poets, e.g. Hröktu því svo og hrjáðu þig | Herra minn ílsku-þjóðir, Pass. 9. 9; Forvitnin holdsins hnýsir þrátt | í Herrans leyndar-dóma, 21. 2; Nær eg fell eðr hrasa hér | hæstur Drottinn vill reiðast mér, 5. 6. III. the Gothic has a special sign for hv, viz. w, which thus answers to wh in English, e.g. wan = when. 2. when followed by an o or u, the v in hv is dropped, e.g. hót hooting, hóta to hoot, cp. Goth. wota and wotjan; as also in hót = hvat what, hóll from hváll, hjól and hvel, hólf and hválf, horfinn, hurfu, hyrfi for hvorfinn, hvurfu, hvyrfi.
C. INTERCHANGE. -- Latin c and Greek κ answer to the Teut. and Icel. h; thus Lat. c&a-short;per, c&a-short;put, c&a-short;nis, carbasus, centum, cervus, c&o-short;r (cord-), collum, corvus, c&u-long;tis, = Icel. hafr, höfuð, hundr, hörr (hörv-), hundrað, hjörtr (hirtu) and hjarta, háls (hals), hrafn, húð; calx, cp. hæll; cardo, cp. hjarri; claudus, cp. haltr; cl&i-long;vus, cp. hlíð; corpus, cp. hræ (hræv-); c&e-short;rebrum, cp. hjarni; cr&a-long;ter, cp. hurð; c&o-long;s, cp. hein; cl&a-long;mo, cp. hljómr; c&e-long;lo, cp. hylja and Hel; coelum, cp. holr (hollow); c&a-short;pio (-c&i-short;pio) = hefja; prin-cipium = upp-haf; c&e-long;teri, cp. hindri; co- and con-, cp. hjá; c&i-short;tra, cp. héðra (hér is a contracted form); cl&u-long;nis, cp. hlaun; cl&i-long;no, cp. hlein, Engl. to lean; c&a-short;leo, cp. hlé-, hlý-r; c&o-short;lo, cp. halda; custodio, cp. hodd, Engl. to hoard; cella, cp. hellir; carcer, cp. hörgr; circus, cp. hringr; c&o-short;rium, cp. hörund; curvus, cp. hverfa (to turn round): Gr. GREEK, GREEK = Icel. hellri, hellztr (hölztr); GREEK, GREEK, GREEK, GREEK, GREEK, = Icel. hálmr, höfuð, horn, hundr, hjarta; GREEK, cp. húnn; GREEK, cp. hlutr; GREEK, cp. högl-d, hvel, hjól; GREEK, cp. holr; GREEK, cp. hrafn; GREEK, cp. hræ; GREEK, cp. hjarni and hvern or hvörn (the two pebble-like bones in a fish's head), cp. also Goth. wairnis; GREEK, cp. Icel. hrútr; GREEK, GREEK, cp. harðr, hraustr; GREEK, cp. herja; GREEK, cp. hylja; GREEK, cp. hlín, hlein; GREEK, cp. hlýða; GREEK, cp. hrikta; GREEK, cp. hriflingar, hrifla; GREEK, cp. heimr; GREEK, cp. húm; GREEK, cp. hjú-, hjú-n: Lat. quis = hverr; qui = hve; quies, cp. hvíl-d, etc.: some of these words may be dubious, but others are evident.
Haðar, m. pl. the inhabitants of Haða-land, a Norse county, Fms. xii.
HADDA, u, f. (halda, Rd. 315, l. 14), [Ivar Aasen hodda, hadde, holle] :-- a pot-hook or rather pot-links, for the hadda was a chain of rings rather than a mere handle, as is seen from Hým. 34 -- en á hælum hringar skullu -- compared with, heyrði til höddu þá er Þórr bar hverinn, Skálda 168; hann kastaði katlinum svá at haddan skall við (rattled), Fms. vi. 364; hann dró á hönd sér höddu er ifir var bollanum, Ó. H. 135; ketill var upp yfir rekkjuna ok reist upp haddan yfir katlinum, ok vóru þar á festir hringar, ... þá féll haldan á katlinum því at hann hafði komit við festina, Rd. 314, 315; hann krækti undir hödduna hinum minsta fingri ok fleytti honum (the kettle) jafnhátt ökla, Fb. i. 524; at konungr mundi gína yfir ketil-hödduna, ... ok var haddan orðin feit, ... konungr brá líndúk um hödduna ok gein yfir, Fms. i. 36.
HADDR, m. [Goth. hazds; A. S. prob. heard, v. infra], hair, only in poetry a lady's hair; haddr Sifjar, the gold-hair of the goddess Sif., Edda 69, 70; hár heitir lá, haddr þat er konur hafa, 109; bleikja hadda, to bleach, dress the hair, 75, Korm. 26, Gkv. 1. 15; bleikir haddar, Fas. i. 478; grass is called haddr jarðar, Bm.; hadds höll is the head, Eb. (in a verse). haddaðr, part. hairy, Lat. crinitus; barr-h., barley-haired, an epithet of the earth; bjart-h., bright-haired; bleik-h., blond-haired; hvít-h., white-haired, Lex. Poët. hadd-bjartr, adj. bright-haired, blond, Hornklofi. hadd-blik, n. bleaching the hair, Edda 77. Haddingr, m. a pr. name of a mythical hero, = comatus, cp. A. S. hearding, Goth. hazdiggs, Engl. Harding, Lex. Poët., Munch i. 217. Haddingja-skati, a, m. a nickname, Sæm.
HAÐNA, u, f. (not hauðna, for the pl. is hoðnor, Grág. i. 503), [cp. Lat. hoedus], a young she-goat (one year old), Grág. i. 503, Bk. 20. COMPDS: höðnu-kið, n. ( = haðna), a young kid, Gullþ. 19, Rd. 267. höðnu-leif, f., poët. 'kid's food,' a withe or switch, used as a halter (?), Ýt. 12 (from goats feeding on branches and withes?)