Had

Part of speech: participle (p.)

See Have. Had as lief, Had rather, Had better, Had as soon, etc., with a nominative and followed by the infinitive without to, are well established idiomatic forms. The original construction was that of the dative with forms of be, followed by the infinitive. See Had better, under Better. And lever me is be pore and trewe. [And more agreeable to me it is to be poor and true.] C. Mundi (Trans. ). Him had been lever to be syke. [To him it had been preferable to be sick.] Fabian. For him was lever have at his bed's head Twenty bookes, clad in black or red, . . . Than robes rich, or fithel, or gay sawtrie. Chaucer.