haber

Meaning

1. (auxiliary) have; forms the perfect aspect
2. (obsolete) to hold, to possess
3. (impersonal) to exist; “there is”, “there are” (hay); “there was”, “there were” (había)
4. (dated, formal) to have to
5. to be necessary
6. used to denote a past obligation

have

be located

be sitting

credit entry

be available

credit balance

credit memo

credit side

tener hambre

estar sentado

tener que

saldo activo

estar muerto de

ayer

Frequency

Hyphenated as

ha‧ber

Pronounced as (IPA)

/aˈbeɾ/

Inherited from Old Spanish

Inherited from Latin

Cognate with French

Cognate with Italian

Cognate with Occitan

Cognate with Portuguese

Cognate with Romanian

In summary

Latinised respelling of Old Spanish aver, from Latin habēre, habeō (“have, hold”), probably from Proto-Italic *habēō or *haβēō, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʰeh₁bʰ- (“to grab, take”). Cognate with French avoir, Italian avere, Occitan aver, Portuguese haver, Romanian avea, avere, and Sardinian (Campidanese airi, Logudorese àere). The preterite is from metathesis of the Latin perfect habuī > *haubī.

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