H (āch), the eighth letter of the English
alphabet, is classed among the consonants, and is formed with the
mouth organs in the same position as that of the succeeding vowel. It
is used with certain consonants to form digraphs representing sounds
which are not found in the alphabet, as sh, th,
th, as in shall, thing, thine
(for zh see §274); also, to modify the sounds of some
other letters, as when placed after c and p, with the former of which
it represents a compound sound like that of tsh, as in
charm (written also tch as in catch), with the
latter, the sound of f, as in phase, phantom. In
some words, mostly derived or introduced from foreign languages,
h following c and g indicates that those
consonants have the hard sound before e, i, and
y, as in chemistry, chiromancy, chyle,
Ghent, Ghibelline, etc.; in some others, ch has
the sound of sh, as in chicane. See Guide to
Pronunciation, §§ 153, 179, 181-3, 237-8.
The name (aitch) is from the French ache; its form is
from the Latin, and this from the Greek H, which was used as the sign
of the spiritus asper (rough breathing) before it came to represent
the long vowel, Gr. η. The Greek H is from Phœnician, the
ultimate origin probably being Egyptian. Etymologically H is most
closely related to c; as in E. horn, L. cornu,
Gr. ke`ras; E. hele, v. t.,
conceal; E. hide, L. cutis, Gr.
ky`tos; E. hundred, L. centum, Gr. "e-
kat-on, Skr. cata.
H piece (Mining), the part of a plunger pump
which contains the valve.
H (hä). (Mus.) The seventh degree in the
diatonic scale, being used by the Germans for B natural. See
B.