an


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an-

(word root) not, without
Examples of words with the root an-: anhydrous
Abused, Confused, & Misused Words by Mary Embree Copyright © 2007, 2013 by Mary Embree

AN

abbr.
airman, Navy

an 1

 (ən; ăn when stressed)
indef.art.
The form of a used before words beginning with a vowel sound: an elephant; an hour; an umbrella. See Usage Notes at a2, every.
[Middle English, from Old English ān, one; see oi-no- in Indo-European roots.]
Word History: The forms of the indefinite article are good examples of what can happen to a word when it becomes habitually pronounced without stress. An is in fact a weakened form of one; both an and one come from Old English ān, "one." In early Middle English, besides representing the cardinal numeral "one," ān developed the special function of indefinite article, and in this role the word was ordinarily pronounced with very little or no stress. Sound changes that affected unstressed syllables elsewhere in the language affected it also. First, the vowel was shortened and eventually reduced to a schwa (ə). Second, the n was lost before consonants. This loss of n affected some other words as well; it explains why English has both my and mine, thy and thine. Originally these were doublets just like a and an, with mine and thine occurring only before vowels, as in Ben Jonson's famous line "Drink to me only with thine eyes." By the time of Modern English, though, my and thy had replaced mine and thine when used before nouns (that is, when not used predicatively, as in This book is mine), just as some varieties of Modern English use a even before vowels (a apple).

an 2

also an'  (ən, ăn when stressed)
conj. Archaic
And if; if: "an it please your majesty / To hunt the panther and the hart with me" (Shakespeare).
[Middle English, short for and, and, from Old English; see and.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

an

(æn; unstressed ən)
determiner
a form of the indefinite article used before an initial vowel sound: an old car; an elf; an honour.
[Old English ān one]
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

an

(æn; unstressed ən) or

an'

conj
(subordinating) an obsolete or dialect word for if See and9

an

the internet domain name for
(Computer Science) Netherlands Antilles

An

(ɑːn)
n
(Non-European Myth & Legend) myth the Sumerian sky god. Babylonian counterpart: Anu

An

the chemical symbol for
(Chemistry) actinon

AN

abbreviation for
1. (Languages) Anglo-Norman
2. (Peoples) Anglo-Norman
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

an1

(ən; when stressed æn)

indefinite article.
the form of a 1 before an initial vowel sound(an arch; an honor) and sometimes, esp. in British English, before an initial unstressed syllable beginning with a silent or weakly pronounced h: an historian.
[before 950; Middle English; Old English ān one]
usage: See a1.

an3

(ən; when stressed æn)
prep.
the form of a2 before an initial vowel sound: 14 dollars an ounce; 55 miles an hour.
usage: See per.

an2

or an'

(ən; when stressed æn)

'n, 'n',



conj.
1. Pron. Spelling. and.
2. Archaic. if.
[1125–75; Middle English, unstressed phonetic variant of and]

an-1

,
a prefix occurring orig. in loanwords from Greek, with the meanings “not,” “without,” “lacking” ( anaerobic; anhydrous; anonymous); regularly attached to words or stems beginning with a vowel or h.Compare a-6.
[< Greek]

an-2

,
var. of ad- before n: announce.

an-3

,
var. of ana- before a vowel: anion.

-an1

,
a suffix with the general sense “of, pertaining to, having qualities of,” occurring orig. in adjectives borrowed from Latin and formed from nouns denoting places ( Roman; urban) or persons ( Augustan), now commonly forming adjectives and nouns denoting affiliation with a place or membership in a group (Chicagoan; crustacean; Episcopalian); attached to personal names, it may additionally mean “contemporary with” (Elizabethan) or “proponent of” (Freudian). The suffix -an1 also occurs in personal nouns denoting one who engages in, practices, or works with the referent of the base word (comedian; electrician; historian). See -ian for relative distribution with that suffix. Compare -arian, -ician.
[Middle English < Latin -ānus; or replacing -ain, -en < Old French < Latin]

-an2

,
a suffix used in the names of organic chemical compounds, esp. polysaccharides: pentosan; xanthan.
[of uncertain orig.]

An

Chem. Symbol. actinon.

an.

in the year.
[< Latin annō]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

a

 – an
1. 'a' and 'an'

You usually use a and an when it is not clear or important which specific thing or person you are referring to. You only use a and an with singular countable nouns. When you are talking about a specific person or thing, you usually use the.

She decided to buy a car.
He parked the car in front of the bakery.
See the

You can describe someone or something using a or an with an adjective and a noun, or with a noun followed by more information.

His brother was a sensitive child.
The information was contained in an article on biology.

Be Careful!
Don't omit a or an in front of a noun when the noun refers to someone's profession or job. For example, you say 'He is an architect'. Don't say 'He is architect'.

She became a lawyer.
2. 'a' or 'an'?

You use a in front of words beginning with consonant sounds and an in front of words beginning with vowel sounds.

Then I saw a tall woman standing by the window.
We live in an old house.

You use an in front of words beginning with 'h' when the 'h' is not pronounced. For example, you say 'an honest man'. Don't say 'a honest man'.

The meeting lasted an hour.

An is used in front of the following words beginning with 'h':

heirheiressheirloomhonesthonorary
honourhonourablehourhourly 

You use a in front of words beginning with 'u' when the 'u' is pronounced /juː/ (like 'you'). For example, you say 'a unique occasion'. Don't say 'an unique occasion'.

He was a university professor.
She became a union member.

A is used in front of the following words:

ubiquitousunanimousunicornunificationuniform
uniformeduniformityunifyingunilateralunilateralist
unionuniqueunisexunitunited
universaluniverseuniversityuraniumurinal
urinaryurineusableusageuse
usedusefuluselessuserusual
usuallyusurperutensiluterusutilitarian
utilityutopian 

You use an in front of an abbreviation when the letters are pronounced separately and the first letter begins with a vowel sound.

Before she became an MP, she was a social worker.
He drives an SUV.
3. 'a' meaning 'one'

A and an are used to mean 'one' in front of some numbers and units of measurement.

Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.an - an associate degree in nursingAN - an associate degree in nursing  
Associate in Nursing
associate degree, associate - a degree granted by a two-year college on successful completion of the undergraduates course of studies
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Translations
أيلِكُلواحِد
jeden
enet
se
एक
jedan
egy
á, fyrirhver, allir
一つの
어떤 하나의
jebkurškatrspar
oun
enett
หนึ่ง
một

an

indef art ? a
conj (obs: = if) → so (old)
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

a,

an

(ə(n)) indef. article
(a is used before words beginning with a consonant eg a boy, or consonant sound eg a union; an is used before words beginning with a vowel eg an owl, or vowel sound eg an honour.)
1. one. There is a boy in the garden.
2. any; every. An owl can see in the dark.
3. for each; per. We earn $6 an hour.
a before hotel, ~historian.
an before heir, ~honest, ~honour, ~hour.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.

an

→ اداة نكرة في الانجليزية ولا يعادلها شئ في العربية jeden en ein ένας un un jedan un, uno 一つの 어떤 하나의 een en rodzajnik nieokreślony, nie tłumaczy się na język polski um en หนึ่ง bir một 一个
Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009