indefinite article, 12c., from O.E.
an (with a long vowel) "one, lone," also used as a prefix
an- "single, lone;" see
one for the divergence of that word from this one. Also see
a, of which this is the older, fuller form. In other European languages, identity between indefinite article and the word for "one" remains explicit (e.g. Fr.
un, Ger.
ein, etc.) O.E. got by without indefinite articles:
He was a good man in O.E. was
he wæs god man. Circa 15c.,
a and
an commonly were written as one word with the following noun, which contributed to the confusion over how such words as
newt and
umpire ought to be divided (see
N). In Shakespeare, etc.,
an sometimes is a contraction of
as if (a usage first attested c.1300), especially before
it.
[uh
n] 
