Hit

In Southern and Appalachian speech, "hit" serves as a variant "it" when it appears as the subject of a sentence. When used as the object, most speakers pronounce it simply "it."

#SouthernWords #Appalachia #OldTimers #Southern

synonyms: it

Hillbilly Dude Says...

It's usually an old timers thing, but I do hear 'hit' in place of 'it' out in public.

Hillbilly Dude Says...

It's usually an old timers thing, but I do hear 'hit' in place of 'it' out in public.

Pronunciation

[HEE-yut]
/ˈhɪ.jət/ ~ /ˈhe.jʌt/

Meaning & Usage

- It (pronoun)

Elmer:

Hit came rollin' down the hill, glad I got outta the way of it!

Estel:

Well, I told you not to park the wagon up there.

★ If someone starts a tale with "Hit"," you know you’re about to hear something worth listening to. ★

Origin and Etymology

A survival of older English usage where "hit" was the unstressed form of "it," common in Middle English and preserved in some rural dialects, including Appalachian speech.

Usage Notes

In Southern and Appalachian English, "hit" commonly replaces "it" when it functions as the subject of a sentence ("Hit’s rainin’ outside"). When "it" appears as an object, speakers usually drop the "h" ("I found it," not "I found hit").

Kin Topics

Common Questions

Why do Appalachians say "hit" instead of "it"?

It’s a holdover from older forms of English where "hit" was the standard pronoun.

Do younger speakers still say "hit"?

Less often, but it still appears in storytelling, music, and among speakers who grew up hearing it.

How to Cite This Page

APA (7th edition)
The Hillbilly Dude. (2025, October 13). Hit. HillbillySlang.com. https://www.hillbillyslang.com/definitions/hit
MLA (9th edition)
"The Hillbilly Dude." "Hit." HillbillySlang.com, 13 Oct. 2025, https://www.hillbillyslang.com/definitions/hit.
Chicago (17th edition)
The Hillbilly Dude. "Hit." HillbillySlang.com. October 13, 2025. https://www.hillbillyslang.com/definitions/hit.

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