happen

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See also: Happen

English

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Etymology

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From Middle English happenen, hapnen, augmented from Middle English happen (to come to pass, happen), perhaps from Old English hæppan (to move accidentally, slip) and/or from Old Norse *happa, *heppa, from Proto-Germanic *hampijaną (to fit in, be fitting). Equivalent to hap (a chance, occurrence, byfall) +‎ -en (verbal suffix).

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈhæpən/
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Rhymes: -æpən

Verb

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happen (third-person singular simple present happens, present participle happening, simple past and past participle happened)

  1. (intransitive) To occur or take place.
    Synonyms: come to pass; see also Thesaurus:happen
    Let me tell you how it happened.
    • 2013 June 28, Joris Luyendijk, “Our banks are out of control”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 3, page 21:
      Seeing the British establishment struggle with the financial sector is like watching an alcoholic who still resists the idea that something drastic needs to happen for him to turn his life around.
  2. (transitive, archaic) To happen to; to befall.
    • 1863, Sheridan Le Fanu, The House by the Churchyard:
      'By my soul! I believe something bad has happened me,' he muttered, and popped up his window, and looked out, half dreaming over the church-yard on the park beyond []
  3. (intransitive or impersonal, with infinitive) To do or occur by chance or unexpectedly.
    Take an umbrella in case it happens to rain.
    Do you happen to have an umbrella?
    I happened to get wet.
  4. (followed by on or upon) To encounter by chance.
    • 1860, Nathaniel Hawthorne, chapter 30, in The Marble Faun:
      Unexpectedly, in a nook close by the farmhouse, he happened upon a spot where the vintage had actually commenced.
  5. (informal) To become popular or trendy.

Usage notes

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Derived terms

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Translations

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Adverb

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happen (not comparable)

  1. (obsolete or dialect) maybe, perhaps.

Dutch

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Etymology

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From hap (bite) +‎ -en.

Pronunciation

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Verb

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happen

  1. to take a bite

Conjugation

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Conjugation of happen (weak)
infinitive happen
past singular hapte
past participle gehapt
infinitive happen
gerund happen n
present tense past tense
1st person singular hap hapte
2nd person sing. (jij) hapt, hap2 hapte
2nd person sing. (u) hapt hapte
2nd person sing. (gij) hapt hapte
3rd person singular hapt hapte
plural happen hapten
subjunctive sing.1 happe hapte
subjunctive plur.1 happen hapten
imperative sing. hap
imperative plur.1 hapt
participles happend gehapt
1) Archaic. 2) In case of inversion.

Derived terms

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Descendants

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  • Papiamentu: hap

Noun

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happen

  1. plural of hap