an

¹

[uhn, an]

indefinite article

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

   an historian.

an-

²

1. 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.

an

³

Also an',

[uhn, an]

conjunction

1. Informal.,  and.

2. Archaic.,  if.

an-

⁴

1. variant of ad- before n: announce.

an-

⁵

1. variant of ana- before a vowel.

   anion.

An

⁶

[ahn]

noun

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

An

⁷

Symbol, Chemistry.

1. actinon.

AN

⁸

Or A.-N.

abbreviation

1. Anglo-Norman.

-an

⁹

1. 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 especially productive with nouns ending in -ic (electrician; logician; technician ). See -ian for relative distribution with that suffix.

an.

¹⁰

abbreviation

1. in the year.

A.N.

¹¹

abbreviation

1. Anglo-Norman.

2. Associate in Nursing.

-an

¹

suffix

1. (forming adjectives and nouns) belonging to or relating to; a person belonging to or coming from

   European

2. (forming adjectives and nouns) typical of or resembling; a person typical of

   Elizabethan

3. (forming adjectives and nouns) adhering to or following; an adherent of

   Christian

4. (forming nouns) a person who specializes or is expert in

   dietitian

   phonetician

An

²

/ ɑːn /

noun

1. Babylonian counterpart: Anu. myth the Sumerian sky god

An

³

symbol

1. actinon

AN

⁴

abbreviation

1. Anglo-Norman

an

⁵

/ æn, ən /

determiner

1. a form of the indefinite article used before an initial vowel sound

   an old car

   an elf

   an honour

an

⁶

/ æn, ən /

conjunction

1. (subordinating) an obsolete or dialect word for if See and

an

⁷

abbreviation

1. Netherlands Antilles

an-

⁸

prefix

1. not; without

   anaphrodisiac

Usage

An was formerly often used before words that begin with h and are unstressed on the first syllable: an hotel ; an historic meeting . Sometimes the initial h was not pronounced. This usage is now becoming obsolete

Grammar Note

See a ¹.

Word History and Origins

Origin of an¹

before 950; Middle English; Old English ān one in a weakened sense

Origin of an²

< Greek. See a- ⁶, in- ³, un- ¹

Origin of an³

First recorded in 1125–75; Middle English, unstressed phonetic variant of and

Origin of an⁴

Middle English < Latin -ānus, -āna, -ānum; in some words replacing -ain, -en < Old French < Latin

Origin of an⁵

From the Latin word annō

Word History and Origins

Origin of an¹

from Latin -ānus, suffix of adjectives

Origin of an²

Old English ān _one

Origin of an³

from Greek

Example Sentences

He imagines kicking back on an island somewhere, but first, he’d need to leave Delaware County.

From Salon

That post caused an understandable uproar among Illinois officials and general believers in the sovereignty of states and cities.

From Salon

The MP warned: ''Many Labour colleagues fear that with the economy under strain, ministers may be tempted to drag their feet on implementation as an olive branch to business.''

From BBC

He told BBC Sport in an interview last year that playing as a professional footballer during the war in Ukraine, and frequently being away from his family in Kyiv, was "difficult".

From BBC

Ireland were forced into a change when full-back Stacey Flood, who had played a key role in charging down Holmes' second conversion attempt, was forced off with an ankle injury seven minutes before half-time.

From BBC