an

¹ American  

[uhn, an] / ən, æn /

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 American  

[uhn, an] / ən, æn /

Also an',

conjunction

1. Informal. and.

2. Archaic. if.

---

An ³ American  

[ahn] / ɑn /

noun

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

---

An ⁴ American  

Symbol, Chemistry.

1. actinon.

---

AN ⁵ American  

Or A.-N.

abbreviation

1. Anglo-Norman.

---

an- ⁶ American  

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- ⁷ American  

1. variant of ad- before n: announce.

---

an- ⁸ American  

1. variant of ana- before a vowel.

   anion.

---

-an ⁹ American  

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 American  

abbreviation

1. in the year.

---

A.N. ¹¹ American  

abbreviation

1. Anglo-Norman.

2. Associate in Nursing.

---

-an ¹ British  

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 British  

/ ɑːn /

noun

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

---

An ³ British  

symbol

1. actinon

---

AN ⁴ British  

abbreviation

1. Anglo-Norman

---

an ⁵ British  

/ 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 British  

/ æn, ən /

conjunction

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

---

an ⁷ British  

abbreviation

1. Netherlands Antilles

---

an- ⁸ British  

prefix

1. not; without

   anaphrodisiac

---

Grammar

See a ¹.

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

Etymology

Origin of an¹

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

Origin of an²

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

Origin of an-⁶

< Greek. See a- ⁶, in- ³, un- ¹

Origin of -an⁹

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

Origin of an.¹⁰

From the Latin word annō

Example Sentences

Rachel said: "All I kept hearing was, 'You're not an emergency patient, you're not a gastro-patient, you're not a surgical patient'. I wasn't anyone's patient."

From BBC • Apr. 8, 2026

Business investment rose in March for the seventh time in eight months and hit an all-time high as companies poured more money into the technologies of the future.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 8, 2026

Wednesday may well feel like a typical summer's day rather than an early April one, as warm, sunny weather continues in many places.

From BBC • Apr. 8, 2026

In an appearance on the podcast “Good Hang With Amy Poehler,” “Parks and Recreation” actor Aubrey Plaza discusses her feelings after the sudden death of her husband, Jeff Baena.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 8, 2026

It’s an old joke from when we were little kids, and we all chuckle.

From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith