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