English

Contraction

hain’t

1. (dialectal, archaic) has not
2. (dialectal, archaic) have not
   • 1884: Mark Twain, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Chapter VIII

     “Doan’ hurt me — don’t! I hain’t ever done no harm to a ghos’. I alwuz liked dead people, en done all I could for ’em. You go en git in de river agin, whah you b’longs, en doan’ do nuffn to Ole Jim, ’at ’uz awluz yo’ fren’.”

3. (dialectal, hypercorrect) ain’t

Usage notes

Hain’t originally derived from han’t, and meant has not and have not. In certain h-adding modern dialects, hain’t is synonymous with, and a replacement for, ain’t in all its uses.