an-
English
Etymology 1
From Middle English an-, from Old English an-, on- (“on-”), from Proto-West Germanic *ana-, from Proto-Germanic *ana- (“on”). More at on.
Etymology 2
From Ancient Greek ἀν- (an-). Doublet of un- and in- .
Prefix
an-
Derived terms
Related terms
Aromanian
Classical Nahuatl
Cornish
Derived terms
References
- Akademi Kernewek Gerlyver Kernewek (FSS) Cornish Dictionary (SWF) (in Cornish), 2018, published 2018, page 11
Dutch
Etymology
From Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-) (ἀν- (an-) immediately preceding a vowel).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɑn/
Audio (file)
Derived terms
French
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /an‿/
Derived terms
German
Etymology
From the preposition an, from Middle High German an(e), from Proto-West Germanic *ana, from Proto-Germanic *ana. Compare Dutch aan-, English on-.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /an/, [ʔan]
Audio (file) - Homophone: an
- IPA(key): /aːn/ (still sometimes Austria, Switzerland; in Germany now highly archaic)
Prefix
an- (seperable verb prefix)
- onto, at, towards (the object)
- an- + schrauben (“to screw”) → anschrauben (“to screw on, attach by screwing”)
- an- + schreien (“to shout”) → anschreien (“to shout at”)
- an- + bauen (“to build”) → anbauen (“to attach, expand, build next to”)
- near, over, towards (the subject)
- expresses a beginning, partial or slight action
- on, in use
Usage notes
- Also occurs in many nouns, but these are generally deverbal.
Derived terms
Irish
Etymology 1
From Old Irish an-, from Proto-Celtic *an-, from Proto-Indo-European *n̥-.
Alternative forms
- ana- (form used before consonants in Munster)
Pronunciation
Prefix
an-
Usage notes
- Triggers lenition (except of d, s, and t):
- In some dialects (e.g. Aran), it also changes s to ts:
- In Munster, this form is used only before a vowel; before a consonant the variant ana- is used.
Derived terms
Etymology 2
From Old Irish an-, in-, from Proto-Celtic *an-, from Proto-Indo-European *n̥-.
Alternative forms
- ain- (used before slender vowels and consonants)
Pronunciation
Derived terms
Etymology 3
From Ancient Greek ἀν- (an-).
Derived terms
Mutation
Irish mutation | |||
---|---|---|---|
Radical | Eclipsis | with h-prothesis | with t-prothesis |
an- | n-an- | han- | t-an- |
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs. |
Further reading
- Dinneen, Patrick S. (1904) “an-”, in Foclóir Gaeḋilge agus Béarla, 1st edition, Dublin: Irish Texts Society, page 27
- Dinneen, Patrick S. (1904) “an”, in Foclóir Gaeḋilge agus Béarla, 1st edition, Dublin: Irish Texts Society, page 27
- Finck, F. N. (1899) Die araner mundart (in German), volume II, Marburg: Elwert’sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, page 16
- Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “an-”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
Italian
Derived terms
Luxembourgish
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /an/, [ɑn]
Usage notes
- When attached to a verb stem beginning with a consonant sound other than /d/, /h/, /n/, /t/ or /t͡s/, the prefix becomes a- as a result of the Eifeler Regel.
Antonyms
Derived terms
Middle English
Middle Welsh
Etymology
From Proto-Brythonic *an-, from Proto-Celtic *an-, from Proto-Indo-European *n̥-.
Derived terms
Old English
Alternative forms
- ǣn-
Etymology
From Proto-West Germanic *aina-, from Proto-Germanic *aina- (“one, uni-”), equivalent to Old English ān (“one”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɑːn/
Prefix
ān-
- one; mono-, uni-
- ān- + -hende (“handed”) → ānhende (“one-handed”)
- ān- + horn (“horn”) → ānhorn (“unicorn”)
- ān- + -īeġe (“-eyed”) → ānīeġe (“one-eyed”)
- ān- + -mōd (“-minded”) → ānmōd (“unanimous”)
- ān- + -nes (“-ness”) → ānnes (“unity”)
- ān- + wīġ (“battle”) → ānwīġ (“duel”)
- ān- + -wille (“-willed”) → ānwille (“stubborn”)
- ān- + -wintre (“years old”) → ānwintre (“one year old”)
- lone, alone
Related terms
Old French
Usage notes
- Particularly common in the works of Chrétien de Troyes.
Old Irish
Etymology 1
From Proto-Celtic *an-, from Proto-Indo-European *n̥-.
Derived terms
Etymology 2
Uncertain. Maybe related to Welsh en- and Gaulish ande- in proper names Andecarus (literally “very dear”) and Anderoudus (literally “very red”).[1] Considered the same word as an- (“un-”) by DIL (see Further reading).
Derived terms
Etymology 3
Unknown.[2]
Prefix
an-
- denoting a movement away from some reference point, used to form adverbs of place, for example anúas (“from above”)
Derived terms
References
- Vendryes, Joseph (1959) “an-, particule intensive”, in Lexique Étymologique de l'Irlandais Ancien [Etymological lexicon of Old Irish] (in French), volume A, Dublin, Paris: Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, Centre national de la recherche scientifique, page A-70
- Vendryes, Joseph (1959) “an-, particule servant a marquer le point de départ d'un mouvement”, in Lexique Étymologique de l'Irlandais Ancien [Etymological lexicon of Old Irish] (in French), volume A, Dublin, Paris: Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, Centre national de la recherche scientifique, page A-70f
Further reading
- G. Toner, M. Ní Mhaonaigh, S. Arbuthnot, D. Wodtko, M.-L. Theuerkauf, editors (2019), “an-”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
- (Negative prefix:) Thurneysen, Rudolf (1940, reprinted 2017) D. A. Binchy and Osborn Bergin, transl., A Grammar of Old Irish, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, →ISBN, § 869-72, pages 542-44
- (Adverbs of place:) Thurneysen, Rudolf (1940, reprinted 2017) D. A. Binchy and Osborn Bergin, transl., A Grammar of Old Irish, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, →ISBN, § 483, page 305
Pali
Alternative forms
- 𑀅𑀦𑁆- (Brahmi script)
- अन्- (Devanagari script)
- অন্- (Bengali script)
- අන්- (Sinhalese script)
- အန်- or ဢၼ်- (Burmese script)
- อนฺ- or อัน- (Thai script)
- ᩋᨶ᩺- (Tai Tham script)
- ອນ຺- or ອັນ- (Lao script)
- អន៑- (Khmer script)
- 𑄃𑄚𑄴- (Chakma script)
Derived terms
References
- Pali Text Society (1921–1925) “an-”, in Pali-English Dictionary, London: Chipstead
Pipil
Pronunciation
- (standard) IPA(key): /an/
Prefix
an-
- (personal) you, second-person plural subject marker.
- Antekitit tik ne mil?
- Do you work at the cornfield?
Usage notes
- Before a vowel, an- changes to anh-. The digraph ⟨nh⟩ is pronounced as [ŋ]. Example:
- Anhajsiket peyna.
- You came early.
Polish
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-) (ἀν- (an-) immediately preceding a vowel), from Proto-Indo-European *n̥- (“un-, not”), zero-grade form of *ne (“not”). Doublet of nie.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /an/
Audio (file) - Rhymes: -an
- Syllabification: an
Derived terms
Further reading
- an- in Polish dictionaries at PWN
Saterland Frisian
Etymology
From Old Frisian an-, from Proto-West Germanic *ana-. Cognates include West Frisian oan- and German an-.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /an-/
Derived terms
Scottish Gaelic
Derived terms
Derived terms
Spanish
Derived terms
Further reading
- “a-”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014
Swedish
Etymology
From the Old Swedish and- meaning “against/towards”.
Derived terms
Welsh
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /an/
Etymology 1
From Middle Welsh an-, from Proto-Brythonic *an-, from Proto-Celtic *an-, from Proto-Indo-European *n̥-.[1] Cognate with Cornish an-.
Prefix
an-
- not, un-, non-, an-, dis-, negative prefix
- Synonym: (used before gl, ll, rh, and consonantal i) af-
- an- + parch (“respect”) → amarch (“disrespect”)
- an- + prisiadwy (“valuable”) → amhrisiadwy (“invaluable”)
- an- + teg (“fair”) → annheg (“unfair”)
- an- + cofio (“to remember”) → anghofio (“to forget”)
- an- + diwedd (“end”) → anniwedd (“endless”)
- an- + gwybod (“to know”) → anwybod (“ignorance”)
- an- + mantais (“advantage”) → anfantais (“disadvantage”)
Usage notes
Triggers the nasal mutation of p, t, c and d, sometimes with accompanying euphonic or orthographic adjustments, and the soft mutation of b, g and m.
Etymology 2
From Proto-Celtic *ande-, *ando- (“inside”).
Derived terms
Mutation
Welsh mutation | |||
---|---|---|---|
radical | soft | nasal | h-prothesis |
an- | unchanged | unchanged | han- |
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs. |
Further reading
R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “an-”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies
References
- Morris Jones, John (1913) A Welsh Grammar, Historical and Comparative, Oxford: Clarendon Press, § 156 i 5
Ye'kwana
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [an-]
Prefix
an-
- allomorph of ön- (negative/sociative irrealis prefix) used for stems that begin with a or e.