aitch

Meaning

The name of the Latin-script letter H/h.

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈeɪt͡ʃ/

Etymology

From Middle English ache, borrowed from Old French ache, from Vulgar Latin *acca. (Compare Italian 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.