an definition | Dictionary.com

an

1 [uh

n; when stressed an]

–indefinite article

the form of a before an initial vowel sound (an arch; an honor) and sometimes, esp. in British English, before an initial unstressed syllable beginning with a silent or weakly pronounced h: an historian.

Origin:
bef. 950; ME; OE ān one in a weakened sense

Usage note:
See a ¹ .

an

2 [uh

n; when stressed an]

–conjunction

1.	Pronunciation Spelling. and.

2.	Archaic. if.

Also, an', 'n, 'n'.

Origin:
1125–75; ME, unstressed phonetic var. of and

An

[ahn]

–noun

the Sumerian god of heaven: the counterpart of the Akkadian Anu.

an-

a prefix occurring before stems beginning with a vowel or h in loanwords from Greek, where it means “not,” “without,” “lacking” (anarchy; anecdote); used in the formation of compound words: anelectric.

Also, before a consonant, a-.

Origin:
< Gk. See a- ⁶ , in- ³ , un- ¹

an-

var. of ad- before n: announce.

an-

var. of ana- before a vowel: anion.

-an

a suffix occurring originally in adjectives borrowed from Latin, formed from nouns denoting places (Roman; urban) or persons (Augustan), and now productively forming English adjectives by extension of the Latin pattern. Attached to geographic names, it denotes provenance or membership (American; Chicagoan; Tibetan), the latter sense now extended to membership in social classes, religious denominations, etc., in adjectives formed from various kinds of noun bases (Episcopalian; pedestrian; Puritan; Republican) and membership in zoological taxa (acanthocephalan; crustacean). Attached to personal names, it has the additional senses “contemporary with” (Elizabethan; Jacobean) or “proponent of” (Hegelian; Freudian) the person specified by the noun base. The suffix -an, and its variant -ian also occurs in a set of personal nouns, mainly loanwords from French, denoting one who engages in, practices, or works with the referent of the base noun (comedian; grammarian; historian; theologian); this usage is esp. productive with nouns ending in -ic (electrician; logician; technician). See -ian for relative distribution with that suffix.

Compare -enne, -ean, -arian, -ician.

Origin:
ME < L -ānus, -āna, -ānum; in some words r. -ain, -en < OF < L

AN

Anglo-Norman.

Also, A.-N.

An

Symbol, Chemistry.

actinon.

an.

in the year.

Origin:
< L annō

A.N.

1.	Anglo-Norman.

2.	Associate in Nursing.

ana-

a prefix in loanwords from Greek, where it means “up,” “against,” “back,” “re-”: anabasis; used in the formation of compound words: anacardiaceous.

Also, especially before a vowel, an-.

Origin:
< Gk, comb. form of aná; no necessary relation to on

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To an

an¹ (ən; ān when stressed)

indef.art. The form of a used before words beginning with a vowel or with an unpronounced h: an elephant; an hour. See Usage Notes at a², every.

[Middle English, from Old English ān, one; see oi-no- in Indo-European roots.]

Word History: The forms of the indefinite article are good examples of what can happen to a word when it becomes habitually pronounced without stress. An is in fact a weakened form of one; both an and one come from Old English ān "one." In early Middle English, besides representing the cardinal numeral "one," ān developed the special function of indefinite article, and in this role the word was ordinarily pronounced with very little or no stress. Sound changes that affected unstressed syllables elsewhere in the language affected it also. First, the vowel was shortened and eventually reduced to a schwa (ə). Second, the n was lost before consonants. This loss of n affected some other words as well; it explains why English has both my and mine, thy and thine. Originally these were doublets just like a and an, with mine and thine occurring only before vowels, as in Ben Jonson's famous line "Drink to me only with thine eyes." By the time of Modern English, though, my and thy had replaced mine and thine when used before nouns (that is, when not used predicatively, as in This book is mine), just as some varieties of Modern English use a even before vowels (a apple).

an² also an' (ən, ān when stressed)

conj. Archaic
And if; if.

[Middle English, short for and, and, from Old English; see and.]

AN
abbr. airman, Navy

An\ ([a^]n). [AS. [=a]n one, the same word as the numeral. See One, and cf. A.] This word is properly an adjective, but is commonly called the indefinite article. It is used before nouns of the singular number only, and signifies one, or any, but somewhat less emphatically. In such expressions as "twice an hour," "once an age," a shilling an ounce (see 2d A, 2), it has a distributive force, and is equivalent to each, every.

Note: An is used before a word beginning with a vowel sound; as, an enemy, an hour. It in also often used before h sounded, when the accent of the word falls on the second syllable; as, an historian, an hyena, an heroic deed. Many writers use a before h in such positions. Anciently an was used before consonants as well as vowels.

An\, conj. [Shortened fr. and, OE. an., and, sometimes and if, in introducing conditional clauses, like Icel. enda if, the same word as and. Prob. and was originally pleonastic before the conditional clause.] If; -- a word used by old English authors. --Shak.

Nay, an thou dalliest, then I am thy foe. --B. Jonson.

An if, and if; if.

Language Translation for : an

Spanish: contra,

German: an,

Japanese: ～にもたれて

More Translations »

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.

an networking
The country code for the Netherlands Antilles (Dutch Antilles).
(1999-01-27)

airman, Navy
Anglo-Norman
Associate in Nursing

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