an

• (stressed)
  • IPA^(key): /æn/

  • Audio (US)

    (file)

  • Rhymes: -æn
• (unstressed)
  • IPA^(key): /ən/

  • Audio (US), unstressed in the phrase "an egg"

    (file)

• Homophone: in (in some accents)

From Old English ān.

an (indefinite)

1. Form of a (all article senses).
   1. Used before a vowel sound.
      • 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 2, in The Celebrity:

        Sunning himself on the board steps, I saw for the first time Mr. Farquhar Fenelon Cooke. He was dressed out in broad gaiters and bright tweeds, like an English tourist, and his face might have belonged to Dagon, idol of the Philistines.

   2. (now quite rare) Used before /h/ in an unstressed syllable.
   3. (nonstandard) Used before /h/ in a stressed syllable.

• In standard English, the article an is used before vowel sounds, while a is used before consonant sounds. Alternatively, an can be found before an unstressed syllable beginning with an h-sound, as in an historic. The h may then become silent or is at least very weakly articulated. This usage is favoured by only 6% of British speakers, and is only slightly more common in writing.[1]
• In the other direction, a can rarely be found before a vowel in nonstandard (often dialectal) speech and written representations thereof, as in "ain't this a innerestin sitchation" (Moira Young, Blood Red Road).
• The various article senses of a are all senses of an.

From Middle English an.

an

1. (archaic) If
   • 1596-97, William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice, Act I Scene 2:

     […] An the worst fall that ever fell, I hope I shall make shift to go without him.

   • 1886-88, Richard F. Burton, The Supplemental Nights to the Thousand Nights and a Night:

     Thereupon, quoth he, "O woman, for sundry days I have seen thee attend the levée sans a word said; so tell me an thou have any requirement I may grant."

2. (archaic) So long as.

   An it harm none, do what ye will.

3. (archaic) As if; as though.
   • 1797, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, The Rime of the Ancyent Marinere (original version), 61-64:

     At length did cross an Albatross, / Thorough the Fog it came; / And an it were a Christian Soul, / We hail'd it in God's Name.

Borrowed from Georgian ან (an).

an (plural ans)

1. The first letter of the Georgian alphabet, ა (Mkhedruli), Ⴀ (Asomtavruli) or ⴀ (Nuskhuri).

From the Old English an, on (preposition).

an

1. In each; to or for each; per.

   I was only going twenty miles an hour.

• This is the same as the word a in such contexts, modified because of preceding an unpronounced h. The train was speeding along at a mile a minute.

• per

• an in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.

• N.A., N/A, NA, n.a., n/a, na

Possibly a metaphorical use of anë (“vessel”).

an m (definite singular ani)

1. (anatomy) womb, caul

   Synonym: mitër

2. (anatomy) joint
3. (dialectal) room, vessel
4. (dialectal, Italy) ship

• anë

an

1. haunch

From Latin annus. Compare Daco-Romanian an.

an n (plural anji)

1. year

From Latin annus.

an m (plural ans)

1. year

• annaie

From Latin in

an

1. in

• an-dians
• dans

From Latin inde

an

1. used to indicate an indefinite quantity, of it, of them

   J'an veus deus

   I want two of them

   J'an seus seur

   I am sure of it

• ar
• al

an

1. the

an

1. third person singular possessive; his, hers, its (used with general-class objects)

an

1. path, road

From Middle High German ein, from Old High German ein, from Proto-Germanic *ainaz. Cognate with German ein, Dutch een, English one, Icelandic einn.

an

1. (Sette Comuni) a, an

   an gamègalndar mann ― a married man

an

1. (Sette Comuni) that (introduces a subordinate clause)

   Khömme an dar sbaighe.

   Tell him that he needs to shut up.

• “an” in Martalar, Umberto Martello; Bellotto, Alfonso (1974) Dizionario della lingua Cimbra dei Sette Communi vicentini, 1st edition, Roana, Italy: Instituto di Cultura Cimbra A. Dal Pozzo

an

1. the (definite article)

an

1. moment

• Mirjejev, V. A.; Usejinov, S. M. (2002) Ukrajinsʹko-krymsʹkotatarsʹkyj slovnyk [Ukrainian – Crimean Tatar Dictionary]‎, Simferopol: Dolya, →ISBN

an

1. imperative of ane

From Old Norse hann. Cognate with Swedish han.

an m

1. he

an m

1. year

From Old French, from Latin annus, from Proto-Italic *atnos, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂et-no-, probably from *h₂et- (“to go”).

• IPA^(key): /ɑ̃/

• audio

  (file)

an m (plural ans)

1. A year

• année

• “an” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

• n'a

From Latin annus.

an m (plural agns)

1. year

an (plural aning)

1. man

• Robert L. Bradshaw, Fuyug grammar sketch (2007)

From Old High German ana.

• IPA^(key): /an/

• audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -an

an (+ dative)

1. (local) on; upon; at; in; against

   Das Bild hängt an der Wand. ― The picture hangs on the wall.

2. by; near; close to; next to
3. (temporal) on; in; at

   Am Dienstag. ― On Tuesday.

4. (temporal) a; per; only used with the word Tag (“day”), otherwise use in

   zweimal am Tag ― twice a day

an (+ accusative)

1. on; onto

   Ich hänge das Bild an die Wand. ― I hang the picture on the wall.

2. at; against

   Schauen Sie an die Tafel. ― Look at the blackboard.

3. to; for

   Ein Brief an Anna. ― A letter for Anna.

• Usually used to refer to something being on a vertical surface, as opposed to auf, which usually points to a horizontal surface.
• When followed by the masculine/neuter definite article in the dative case (i.e. dem (“the”)), the two words can contract to am (“on the”).
• When followed by the neuter definite article in the accusative case (i.e. das (“the”)), the two words can contract to ans (“on the”).

an

1. onward; on

   von heute an ― from today on

• anhin
• wohlan, wolan
• (an + dem) am

• na

an

1. water

• Patricia Lillie, Girawa Dictionary

an

1. Romanization of 𐌰𐌽

From French un.

an

1. the (definite article)

Use this word when:

• It modifies a singular noun, and
• It is preceded by a word that ends with either:
  • A nasal vowel, or
  • A nasal consonant and an oral (non-nasal) vowel, in that order.

• a
• la
• lan
• nan
• yo
• yon

From French an (“year”)

an

1. year

• lane

Borrowed from English on, German an. Decision no. 759, Progreso V.

• IPA^(key): /an/

an

1. at, on (indicates contiguity, juxtaposition)

   Me pendis pikturi an la parieto. ― I hung paintings on the wall.

• dorso an dorso (“back to back”)
• an-

• Progreso IV (in Ido), 1911–1912, pages 409, 523, 591, 622
• Progreso V (in Ido), 1912–1913, page 659

From Old Irish in, from Proto-Celtic *sindos.

• IPA^(key): /ənˠ/, (between consonants) /ə/, (before a/á, o/ó, u/ú) /ə.nˠ-/, (before e/é, i/í) /ə.n̠ʲ-/

an

1. the

   an t-uisce ― the water

   an bhean ― the woman

   an pháiste ― of the child

   ag an gcailín/chailín ― at the girl

From Old Irish in.

• (preverbal particle): IPA^(key): (before a consonant) /ə/, (before a/á, o/ó, u/ú) /ə.nˠ-/, (before e/é, i/í) /ə.n̠ʲ-/
• (copular particle): IPA^(key): /ənˠ/, (before é, ea, í, iad) /ə.n̠ʲ-/

an (triggers eclipsis; takes the dependent form of irregular verbs if available; not used in the past tense except of some irregular verbs)

1. Used to form direct and indirect questions

   An bhfuil tú ag éisteacht? ― Are you listening?

   Níl a fhios agam an bhfuil sé anseo. ― I don’t know if/whether he is here.

• ar (used with the past tense of regular and some irregular verbs)

an

1. used to introduce copular questions, both direct and indirect, in the present/future tense

   An maith leat bainne? ― Do you like milk?

   Níl a fhios agam an é Conchúr a chonaic mé. ― I don’t know if it’s Connor whom I saw.

an (present analytic anann, future analytic anfaidh, verbal noun anacht, past participle anta)

1. (transitive, intransitive) Alternative form of fan (“stay, wait, remain”)

an

1. Alternative form of a (used before numbers when counting)

• "an" in Foclóir Gaeilge-Béarla, An Gúm, 1977, by Niall Ó Dónaill.
• “in” in Dictionary of the Irish Language, Royal Irish Academy, 1913–76.
• Entries containing “an” in English-Irish Dictionary, An Gúm, 1959, by Tomás de Bhaldraithe.
• Entries containing “an” in New English-Irish Dictionary by Foras na Gaeilge.

an

1. Rōmaji transcription of あん

an

1. or

• yan (after a vowel-ending word)

From Latin annus.

an m (plural ani)

1. year

From Proto-Italic *an, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂en. Cognate with Lithuanian angu (“or”), Gothic 𐌰𐌽 (an, “so? now?”). May also be related to Ancient Greek ἄν (án, particle), Sanskrit अना (anā́), Avestan 𐬀𐬥𐬁‎ (anā), Lithuanian anàs, Proto-Slavic *onъ.[1]

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /an/

an

1. or, or whether (A conjunction that introduces the second part of a disjunctive interrogation, or a phrase implying doubt.)
   1. in disjunctive interrogations
      1. direct
         1. (introduced by utrum (“whether”))
         2. (introduced by -ne (interrogative enclitic))
         3. (introduced by nonne (“[is it] not”))
         4. (introduced by num (interrogative particle))
         5. (without an introductory particle)
      2. indirect
         1. (introduced by utrum (“whether”))
         2. (introduced by -ne, interrogative enclitic)
         3. (introduced by an)
         4. (without an introductory particle)
      3. or rather, or on the contrary (where the opinion of the speaker or the probability inclines to the second interrogative clause, and this is made emphatic, as a corrective of the former)
         1. hence, in the comic poets, as an potius
      4. or, or rather, or indeed, or perhaps (where, as is frequent, the first part of the interrogation is not expressed, but is to be supplied from the context, an begins the interrogation, but it does not begin an absolute – i.e., non-disjunctive – interrogation)
      5. (in the phrase an nōn) or not
         1. in direct questions
         2. in indirect questions
      6. (in the phrase an ne) pleonastic usage for an
         1. in direct questions
         2. in indirect questions
   2. (in disjunctive clauses that express doubt) or
      1. ?
      2. denoting uncertainty by itself, without a verb of doubting
      3. (chiefly in and after the Augustean period) standing for sīve
      4. where the first disjunctive clause is to be supplied from the general idea or where an stands for utrum or necne
      5. Since in such distributive sentences expressive of doubt, the opinion of the speaker or the probability usually inclines to the second, i.e. to the clause beginning with an, the expressions haud sciō an, nesciō an, and dubitō an incline to an affirmative signification, “I almost know”, “I am inclined to think”, “I almost think”, “I might say”, “I might assert that”, etc., for “perhaps”, “probably”.
      6. Sometimes the distributive clause beginning with an designates directly the opposite, the more improbable, the negative; in which case nesciō an, haud sciō an, etc., like the English I know not whether, signify “I think that not”, “I believe that not”, etc.

• Used with utrum (“whether”) in the construction utrum...an (“whether...or”):

  Nescio quid intersit, utrum nunc veniam, an ad decem annos.

  I know not what matter it is, whether I come now or after ten years.

• ăn in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• an in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Hachette
• Carl Meissner; Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎, London: Macmillan and Co.
  • to offer a person the alternative of... or..: optionem alicui dare, utrum...an
    
  • it is a debated point whether... or..: in contentione ponitur, utrum...an
    
  • it is a difficult point, disputed question: magna quaestio est (followed by an indirect question)
    
  • to keep, celebrate a festival: diem festum agere (of an individual)
    

an

1. fresh water

• Malcolm Ross, Andrew Pawley, Meredith Osmond, The Lexicon of Proto-Oceanic →ISBN, 2007)
• Blust's Austronesian Comparative Dictionary (as ʔan)

• Rhymes: -an
• IPA^(key): /an/, /aːn/, /ɒːn/, /ɔːn/

an

1. on
2. to, at

Neither the spelling nor grammar of these forms applies to all, or even necessarily the majority, of dialects.

an

1. on

• an't

• IPA^(key): /an/, [ɑn]
• Rhymes: -ɑn

From Old High German indi.

an

1. and

From Proto-Germanic *in.

an

1. in

an

1. Nonstandard spelling of ān.
2. Nonstandard spelling of án.
3. Nonstandard spelling of ǎn.
4. Nonstandard spelling of àn.

• English transcriptions of Mandarin speech often fail to distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without the appropriate indication of tone.

• IPA^(key): /an/

an

1. Alternative form of āne

From Old English in.

an

1. Alternative form of in

From Old English and.

an

1. Alternative form of and

From Old English an.

an

1. Alternative form of oon

From Old French an, from Latin annus.

an m (plural ans)

1. year

• French: an

• IPA^(key): /ən/

an

1. Alternative form of yn

From Latin in.

an

1. in
2. on

From Old French an, from Latin annus.

• Audio (Jersey)

  (file)

an m (plural ans)

1. (Guernsey, Jersey) year

• année

• Jour dé l'An (“New Year's Day”)
• Nouvel An (“New Year”)
• tchu d'l'an (“last day of the year”)

an

1. at, on, next to or contiguous with something

From Old Occitan an, from Latin annus.

an m (plural ans)

1. year

• Also used with the verb aver (“to have”) to indicate age

See the etymology of the main entry.

an

1. third-person plural present indicative of aver

• ǣn

From Proto-Germanic *ainaz, from Proto-Indo-European *óynos. Germanic cognates include Old Frisian ān, Old Saxon ēn, Dutch een, Old High German ein (German ein), Old Norse einn (Swedish en), Gothic 𐌰𐌹𐌽𐍃 (ains). The Indo-European root is also the source of Latin ūnus, Ancient Greek οἶος (oîos), Old Irish oen.

• IPA^(key): /ɑːn/

ān

1. (cardinal) one
   • c. 893 C.E., Alfred the Great (uncertain), transl., chapter IX, in Joseph Bosworth, editor, King Alfred’s Anglo-Saxon Version of The Compendious History of the World, London: Longman, translation of Historiae Adversus Paganos by Orosius, published 1859, book IV, page 92:

     […] án wæs on Ispania ; oþer on Mæcedonia ; þridde on Capadotia ; feorðe æt ham wið Hannibal ; and hí eac oftost geflymde wurdon, and gesbismrade.

     One was in Spain; another in Macedonia; a third in Cappadocia; a fourth at home against Hannibal; and they were also very often put to flight and disgraced.

As in modern English, usage doubles as both a numeral and a pronoun.

ān

1. a; an (indefinite article)

ān

1. only
2. alone

• ānġenga
• ānhaga
• āntīd

• forma
• formesta, formest
• fyrmesta, fyrmest
• fyresta, fyrest
• ǣresta, ǣrest

• Middle English: an, oan, on, oon, a, o, oo
  • English: one, an, a
  • Scots: ane, ae
  • Yola: oan

From Latin annus.

an m (oblique plural anz, nominative singular anz, nominative plural an)

1. year

• anee

• Middle French: an
  • French: an
• Norman: an

an (triggers eclipsis, takes a leniting relative clause)

1. Alternative form of a
   • c. 875, Milan Glosses on the Psalms, published in Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus (reprinted 1987, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), edited and with translations by Whitley Stokes and John Strachan, vol. I, pp. 7–483, Ml. 112b13

     Is demniu liunn a n-ad·chiam hua sulib ol·daas an ro·chluinemmar hua chluasaib.

     What we see with the eyes is more certain for us than what we hear with the ears.

From Latin annus (“year”).

an m (oblique plural ans, nominative singular ans, nominative plural an)

1. year

• Catalan: any
• Occitan: an

an

1. on, in

From Latin annus (“year”), from Proto-Italic *atnos, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂et-no-, probably from *h₂et- (“to go”).

• IPA^(key): [an]

an m (plural ani)

1. year

• anual
• anotimp

• (Rumantsch Grischun, Sursilvan, Surmiran) onn
• (Sutsilvan, Vallader) on

From Latin annus.

an m (plural ans)

1. (Puter) year

From Old English and, ond, end (“and”), from Proto-Germanic *andi, *anþi, *undi, *unþi (“and, furthermore”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂énti (“facing opposite, near, in front of, before”). Cognate with English and (“and”), North Frisian en (“and”), West Frisian en, in (“and”), Low German un (“and”), Dutch en (“and”), German und (“and”), Danish end (“but”), Swedish än (“yet, but”), Icelandic enn (“still, yet”), Albanian edhe (“and”) (dialectal ênde, ênne), ende (“still, yet, therefore”), Latin ante (“opposite, in front of”), and Ancient Greek ἀντί (antí, “opposite, facing”).

• an'
• and

an

1. and

• an a'

• IPA^(key): /an/, /ən/

From Old Irish a.

an

1. their

• This form of possessive pronoun is not used before nouns beginning with b, f, m or p, where am is used instead.

From Old Irish i, from Proto-Celtic *en.

an

1. in

• This form is not used before nouns beginning with b, f, m or p, where ann am is used instead.

• ann an

• The following prepositional pronouns (or ‘conjugated prepositions’):

From Old Irish in.

an

1. the

This is the most common singular form. The most common plural form is na. For other forms and their specific uses, see pages listed in "See also" below.

• Faclair Gàidhlig Dwelly Air Loidhne, Dwelly, Edward (1911), Faclair Gàidhlig gu Beurla le Dealbhan/The Illustrated [Scottish] Gaelic-English Dictionary (10th ed.), Edinburgh: Birlinn Limited, →ISBN
• “2 a” in Dictionary of the Irish Language, Royal Irish Academy, 1913–76.
• “i” in Dictionary of the Irish Language, Royal Irish Academy, 1913–76.
• “in” in Dictionary of the Irish Language, Royal Irish Academy, 1913–76.

an

1. place

an

1. used as a verb particle, similar to German preposition an (“at, in, on, to”)

• gå an
• komma an
• lägga an
• ta sig an

an

1. (accounting) to

From English hand.

an

1. hand, lower arm
2. flipper

From Arabic آن‎ (ʾān).

an (definite accusative anı, plural anlar)

1. moment

an

1. second-person singular imperative of anmak

Sino-Vietnamese word from 安 (“tranquil”).

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [ʔaːn˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [ʔaːŋ˧˧]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [ʔaːŋ˧˧]

an

1. (only in compounds) safe, secure

• "an" in Hồ Ngọc Đức, Free Vietnamese Dictionary Project (details)

• Audio

  (file)

an

1. and

• ana

ān

1. (cardinal) one

• alf