Not Happily. Haply!

haply (adv.) IPA pronunciation: /’hæp.li/
perhaps, maybe, by chance, with luck

CORDELIA
…Haply, when I shall wed,
That lord whose hand must take my plight shall carry
Half my love with him, half my care and duty.
-King Lear (I.i)

Often when people come across this word the think it is “happily” contracted. NO! This “hap” is related to the hap in perhaps. If you read it as “happily” then the meaning can be completely different.

NOW YOU KNOW

Posted on December 20, 2007

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