different between happen vs underway

English

Etymology

From Middle English happenen, hapnen, augmented from Middle English happen (“to come to pass, happen”), perhaps from Old English hæppan (“to move accidentally, slip”) and/or from Old Norse *happa, *heppa, from Proto-Germanic *hampijan? (“to fit in, be fitting”). Equivalent to hap (“a chance, occurrence, byfall”) +? -en (verbal suffix).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?hæp?n/
• Rhymes: -æp?n

Verb

happen (third-person singular simple present happens, present participle happening, simple past and past participle happened)

1. (intransitive) To occur or take place.

   Synonyms: come to pass; see also Thesaurus:happen

2. (transitive, archaic) To happen to; to befall.
3. (intransitive or impersonal, with infinitive) To do or occur by chance or unexpectedly.

4. (followed by on or upon) To encounter by chance.
   • 1860, Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Marble Faun, ch. 30:

     Unexpectedly, in a nook close by the farmhouse, he happened upon a spot where the vintage had actually commenced.

Usage notes

• In the sense which indicates a chance occurrence, happen is a catenative verb that takes the to-infinitive. See Appendix:English catenative verbs

Derived terms

Related terms

• happening
• happenstance

Translations

Adverb

happen (not comparable)

1. (obsolete or dialect) maybe, perhaps.

   (The addition of quotations indicative of this usage is being sought:)

Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /???p?(n)/
• Rhymes: -?p?n

Verb

happen

1. to take a bite

Inflection

Noun

happen

1. Plural form of hap

English

Etymology 1

Calque of Dutch onderweg (“underway”), equivalent to under- +? way.

Alternative forms

• under way

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?nd?(?)?we?/

Adverb

underway (comparative more underway, superlative most underway)

1. In motion, in progress; being done or carried out; on a journey.

Translations

Etymology 2

under +? way

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??nd?(?)we?/

Noun

underway (plural underways)

1. A road, track, path, or street for going under another way or obstacle; an underpass.
2. An underground passage, subway, tunnel.
3. A voyage, especially underwater.

Translations