happer

French

Etymology

Inherited from Old French happer, ultimately onomatopoeic. Words of similar form and meaning are found in nearby Germanic languages but are of later attestation: Dutch happen, German Happen.

Pronunciation

• ^{(aspirated h)} IPA^(key): /a.pe/

• Audio (Lyon):

  (file)

Verb

happer (transitive)

1. to snatch by the mouth, to snap up (typically of animals)

   On lui jeta un os, et il le happa. ― They threw it a bone, and it snapped it up.

2. (figurative) to grab, to seize
3. (colloquial) to strike forcefully

   Il a été happé par une automobile et tué sur le coup. ― He was hit by a car and killed on the spot.

4. (colloquial) to catch off guard; take by surprise

Conjugation

Conjugation of happer (see also Appendix:French verbs)

infinitive	simple	happer
	compound	avoir + past participle
present participle or gerund1	simple	happant /a.pɑ̃/
	compound	ayant + past participle
past participle		happé /a.pe/
		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		je (j’)	tu	il, elle, on	nous	vous	ils, elles
(simple tenses)	present	happe /ap/	happes /ap/	happe /ap/	happons /a.pɔ̃/	happez /a.pe/	happent /ap/
	imperfect	happais /a.pɛ/	happais /a.pɛ/	happait /a.pɛ/	happions /a.pjɔ̃/	happiez /a.pje/	happaient /a.pɛ/
	past historic2	happai /a.pe/	happas /a.pa/	happa /a.pa/	happâmes /a.pam/	happâtes /a.pat/	happèrent /a.pɛʁ/
	future	happerai /a.pʁe/	happeras /a.pʁa/	happera /a.pʁa/	happerons /a.pʁɔ̃/	happerez /a.pʁe/	happeront /a.pʁɔ̃/
	conditional	happerais /a.pʁɛ/	happerais /a.pʁɛ/	happerait /a.pʁɛ/	happerions /a.pə.ʁjɔ̃/	happeriez /a.pə.ʁje/	happeraient /a.pʁɛ/
(compound tenses)	present perfect	present indicative of avoir + past participle
	pluperfect	imperfect indicative of avoir + past participle
	past anterior2	past historic of avoir + past participle
	future perfect	future of avoir + past participle
	conditional perfect	conditional of avoir + past participle
subjunctive		que je (j’)	que tu	qu’il, qu’elle	que nous	que vous	qu’ils, qu’elles
(simple tenses)	present	happe /ap/	happes /ap/	happe /ap/	happions /a.pjɔ̃/	happiez /a.pje/	happent /ap/
	imperfect2	happasse /a.pas/	happasses /a.pas/	happât /a.pa/	happassions /a.pa.sjɔ̃/	happassiez /a.pa.sje/	happassent /a.pas/
(compound tenses)	past	present subjunctive of avoir + past participle
	pluperfect2	imperfect subjunctive of avoir + past participle
imperative		–	tu	–	nous	vous	–
simple		—	happe /ap/	—	happons /a.pɔ̃/	happez /a.pe/	—
compound		—	simple imperative of avoir + past participle	—	simple imperative of avoir + past participle	simple imperative of avoir + past participle	—
1 The French gerund is usable only with the preposition en.
2 In less formal writing or speech, these tenses may be found to have been replaced in the following way: past historic → present perfect past anterior → pluperfect imperfect subjunctive → present subjunctive pluperfect subjunctive → past subjunctive (Christopher Kendris [1995], Master the Basics: French, pp. 77, 78, 79, 81).

Further reading

• “happer”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Norman

Etymology

Borrowed from Old Norse harpa (“to grip, pinch”).

Pronunciation

• Audio (Jersey):

  (file)

Verb

happer (gerund happ'thie)

1. (Jersey) to catch

Antonyms

• r'lâchi (“to release”)