# Does "ar hap" mean anything in particular in Welsh? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 8, 2002, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-ar-hap-mean-anything-in-particular-in-welsh/117945 "2002-07-08T19:07:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2002, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-ar-hap-mean-anything-in-particular-in-welsh/117945/1 "2002-07-08T19:07:02Z")
I did a Google search on the words, and the only things that came up seemed to be incidental words in some Welsh websites. And, not having had the opportunity to learn Welsh, growing up as I did in Southeastern USA, I didn’t know how to translate it. Anyone??? ---
**Author:** ![Cerowyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/82dd89/32.png) [@Cerowyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cerowyn)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2002, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-ar-hap-mean-anything-in-particular-in-welsh/117945/2 "2002-07-08T19:58:12Z")
_ar_ is just a preposition that means “on.” _hap_ could mean journey or adventure, but I’m not sure. Could you explain the context? ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2002, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-ar-hap-mean-anything-in-particular-in-welsh/117945/3 "2002-07-08T20:08:05Z")
Purely a WAG until someone comes along who knows, but it appears to mean “on the chance.” _ar_ appears in quite a few phrases in on-line dictionaries that include the word or the notion of “on.” _hap_ is much harder to find, but I found some compound words that related to chance or gambling that began _hap-_ and one of them displayed that form as a prefix meaning “chance.” (Look at [this site](http://www.estelnet.com/catalunyacymru/catala/gbs_h.htm) at the words _hapchwarae_ and _hapfasnachu_.) If it is idiomatic, of course, it could mean “lucky” or “unlucky” or “uncertain” or any number of other things. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2002, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-ar-hap-mean-anything-in-particular-in-welsh/117945/4 "2002-07-09T02:34:40Z")
In the novel “Lt. Gulliver Jones” by Edwin Lester Arnold, the protagonist is mysteriously whisked away to Mars on a flying carpet. When he arrives, he meets and falls in love with the lovely Princes Dejah Thoris–oops, wrong novel–the lovely Princes _Heru_, a member of the “Hither People,” soon to be given in tribute to the leader of the “Thither People,” the merciless Ar-Hap. Also, the “Hither People” are so timid that they refuse to even _consider_ the thought of protesting these annual carnal tributes. Anyway. . . So, just for the heck of it, I shook the Google tree to see what would fall out with “ar hap” in it, and the only thing that came up were some Welsh websites. Since the writer was a Brit, I thought the name might mean something that might color the story a little, but it doesn’t seem to be the case. Also, if anyone checks back in, this novel quite possibly was the inspiration for Edgar Rice Burroughs’ “Barsoom” series. You’ll have to judge that one for yourself, but some of the similarities are just _too_ coincidental. This story was serialized into the Marvel Comics early 70s anthology series “Creatures on the Loose,” issues 15-21 or so. I must admit that they did a very good job in dressing up what was pages-and-pages (in novel form) of _non_-events. And some more thoughts: I wondered if J. Michael Straczynski (sp?) of B5 fame was a Marvel reader in the early 70s, since the “Soul Hunters” did have a passing resemlance to Adam Warlock, and–to bring things full circle–the comic serial depiction of Ar-Hap (which differed considerably from the novel) has a _lot_ in common with the Londo Molari of Season 5. But to say more would be spoiling the story. . . . ---
**Author:** ![zigaretten](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/91b2a8/32.png) [@zigaretten](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zigaretten)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2002, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-ar-hap-mean-anything-in-particular-in-welsh/117945/5 "2002-07-09T11:45:26Z")
I’ll defer to **Cerowyn** when he comes up with the right answer, but in the mean time I believe it means “by chance;” accidentally or fortunately. That fits with **tomndebb**. Does that make any sense to the story?