Hath is a third-person singular present tense of the archaic verb 'to have' (hath). It denotes possession or existence and is chiefly found in Biblical or Shakespearean contexts. In modern usage it’s mostly read or quoted for stylistic effect, and its pronunciation is short and clipped, aligning with its historical tone.
"He hath a dream, and it guides his day."
"In the scripture, she that hath spoken shall be spared."
"The knight hath arrived, bearing tidings."
"Where hath thy courage gone, traveler?"
Hath comes from Old English hãt, a form of the verb habban (to have). In Early Modern English, haþ or haþe appeared as the third-person singular present tense for the verb to have, paralleling modern English uses like 'has.' The pronunciation shifted through the Great Vowel Shift and other phonetic evolutions but retained the short, clipped vowel sound in unstressed positions. By the 15th–16th centuries, the form had stabilized in printed texts as hath, casting a formal, archaic flavor. The first known uses appear in religious and legal manuscripts, and by Shakespeare’s era, hath was a standard literary tool for indicating singular third-person possessive action. Although now chiefly found in literature and liturgy, hath persists in modern drama, poetry, and quoted biblical lines to evoke antiquity or solemnity.
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Words that rhyme with "Hath"
-ath sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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Pronounce as /hæθ/. Start with a short front open vowel /æ/ as in 'cat,' then a voiceless dental fricative /θ/ (tip of the tongue between upper and lower teeth), and finish with a voiceless stop-like /th/ sound without vocal fold vibration. Keep the vowel short and the consonants crisp; this mirrors the archaic solemn tone. IPA: /hæθ/. Audio cues: you’ll hear it as a quick, clean monosyllable without rolling or lengthening the vowel.
Two frequent errors are lengthening the vowel into /æː/ and softening the /θ/ into /s/ or /f/. Another is adding a trailing breath or rounding the vowel as in modern 'has.' Correction: keep /æ/ short, tip of the tongue between teeth for /θ/, and release the final /θ/ with a clean stop—no voicing. Practice with minimal pairs like 'hat' vs 'hath' to hear the subtle difference in duration and dental fricative position.
Across US/UK/AU, the core /hæθ/ remains similar, but vowel quality can shift slightly with accent. UK English tends toward crisper dental friction and may have a marginally higher fronted tongue position for /æ/. US often has a flatter /æ/; AU keeps a tighter jaw and slightly more forward tongue. The /θ/ remains a voiceless dental fricative in all three, though some speakers substitute with /f/ in casual speech. IPA references stay /hæθ/ in all locales to preserve the archaic pronunciation.
The difficulty lies in the voiceless dental fricative /θ/, a sound English learners often substitute with /t/, /d/, /f/, or /s/. It requires precise tongue placement between the teeth and a gentle air stream without vocal fold vibration. Additionally, preserving the short, clipped /æ/ in a word that’s also a ligature to archaic rhythm can feel unfamiliar. Maintain a quick, decisive release and a clean dental fricative for authenticity.
Treat hath as a ceremonial monosyllable. Visualize a brief, almost whispered release: /hæθ/. Keep the tongue lightly touching the lower teeth for /θ/, and avoid tensing the jaw. A quick, confident stop after /æ/ helps the word land with the intended archaic gravitas. Recording yourself and comparing with a Shakespearean audio clip can help you tune the rhythm and ensure the vowels stay short and the /θ/ stays voiceless.
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