/ˈeɪt͡ʃ/
OriginFrom Middle English ache, borrowed from Old French ache, from Vulgar Latin *acca. The source is unclear, but may descend from the vowelless alphabetic sequence ha ka 'H, K' (becoming [aka] when the [h] ceased to be pronounced), as K had low frequency in Late Latin. Doublet of ecchi.
- The name of the Latin script letter H/h.
“The word hour is written with a silent aitch.”
“Cockneys drop their aitches.”
“The word length, which contains only four sounds l e ng th, is usually spell'd thus, el ee en gee tee aitch.”
- alt-ofAlternative letter-case form of aitch.
Formsaitches(plural) · haitch(alternative, Australia, Ireland, proscribed, sometimes) · ache(alternative, rare) · Aitches(plural)