The present participle of 'hap,' meaning to happen by chance or to occur unexpectedly.
From Middle English 'happen,' derived from Old Norse 'happ' meaning luck or fortune. The word originally meant 'to occur by luck' and evolved to mean any chance occurrence or happening.
This word is practically obsolete in modern English, but it's fascinating because it's the root of 'perhaps'—literally 'per hap' or 'by chance.' Medieval people used 'hap' constantly to describe the unpredictability of life before we had scientific explanations.
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