Perhaps

How to spell perhaps

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce perhaps

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does perhaps mean?

1. adverbPossibly, but not certainly; used to express uncertainty or polite suggestion.

Perhaps in a sentence

• The meeting will finish early, perhaps before noon.

• Perhaps the parcel was delivered to the wrong address.

Where does perhaps come from?

Language of origin: Old Norse

This word is a compound that took shape in late Middle English, around the 1400s, by joining the Latin-derived preposition 'per', meaning 'by' or 'through', to the noun 'hap', meaning 'chance' or 'luck'. That noun 'hap' came into English from Old Norse 'happ', which meant good fortune or a lucky chance, and it is the same root that gives us 'happen', 'happy', and 'mishap'. So the literal sense of 'perhaps' is something like 'by chance', which softened over time into the modern meaning of 'possibly' or 'maybe'. The pattern echoes an older synonym 'perchance', built the same way from 'per' plus 'chance'. The spelling trap is the silent-feeling middle: writers sometimes drop the 'h' or muddle the ending, but remembering the buried word 'hap' (as in 'happen') keeps the letters in order.

How the word is built

• per- (by, through)
• hap (chance, luck)
• -s (adverbial)