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Sunning himself on the board steps, I saw for the first time Mr. Farquhar Fenelon Cooke. He was dressed out in broad gaiters and bright tweeds, like an English tourist, and his face might have belonged to Dagon, idol of the Philistines.
God brought him forth out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn: he shall eat up the nations his enemies, and shall break their bones, and pierce them through with his arrows.
(Can we date this quote?), John Mackay Wilson, Wilson's Tales of the Borders; Historical, Traditionary, and Imaginative, →OCLC, page 84:
My hopes, from my earliest years, have been hopes of celebrity as a writer- not of wealth, or of influence, or of accomplishing any of the thousand aims which furnish the great bulk of mankind with motives. You will laugh at me. There is something so emphatically shadowy and unreal in the object of this ambition, that even the full attainment of its provokes a smile. For who does not know 'How vain that second life in others' breath, The estate which wits inherit after death!' And what can be more fraught with the ludicrous than an union of this shadowy ambition with mediocre parts and attainments! But I digress.
2010 March 22, Paul Taylor, “Greece Debates Revive Old European Fears and Resentments”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2010-04-03, Inside Europe:
President Nicolas Sarkozy of France is open to an European monetary fund but would want it to raise money cheaply on capital markets and lend it to needy euro-zone countries before they faced possible default.
2021 April 13, Neil Vigdor, “Hank Aaron’s Name Will Replace a Confederate General’s on an Atlanta School”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on April 14, 2021, U.S.:
In an unanimous vote on Monday, the city’s school board approved removing the name of Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest from Forrest Hill Academy and calling the alternative school the Hank Aaron New Beginnings Academy.
2024 February 14, Lawrence O'Donnell, 0:29 from the start, in Lawrence: Jack Smith asks SCOTUS to move fast on Trump. Nixon case is proof they can., MSNBC, archived from the original on February 15, 2024:
Having been given seven full days, Jack Smith took exactly one day to file a forty-page response in opposition, to the Supreme Court, making the argument that there was no reason for the Supreme Court to hear Donald Trump's appeal of an unanimous opinion by the second most important court in the country, the Washington, D.C. Federal Court of Appeals, which supported the trial judge's ruling that there is no such thing as immunity from criminal prosecution for former presidents.
For more quotations using this term, see Citations:an.
(nonstandard)Used before /h/ in a stressed or unstressed syllable.
1 I waited patiently for the Lord, and he inclined vnto me, and heard my crie. 2 He brought me vp also out of an horrible pit, out of the mirie clay, and set my feete vpon a rock, and established my goings.
1693, Robert Morden, “Of China”, in Geography Rectified; or a Description of the World, 3rd edition, →OCLC, page 441:
The Province of Nanking, by the Tartars called Kiangnan, is the ſecond in honour, in magnitude and fertility in all China : It is divided into 14 great Territories, having Cities and Towns an hundred and ten; Nanking, or Kiangning being the Metropolis; a City, that if ſhe did not exceed moſt Cities on the Earth in bigneſs and beauty, yet ſhe was inferior to few, for her Pagodes, her Temples, her Porcelane Towers, her Palaces and Triumphal Arches. Fungiang, Sucheu, Sunkiang, Leucheu, Hoaigan, Ganking, Ningue, Hoeicheu, are alſo eminent places, and of great Note and Trade.
Following the doctrine of Lenin and Stalin, relying on the support of the great Soviet state and all the revolutionary forces of all countries, the Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese people gained an historic victory a few years ago.
1972 May 28, 3:30 from the start, in President Nixon addresses the Soviet People live from the Kremlin, spoken by Richard Nixon, archived from the original on 22 December 2015:
We have agreed on joint ventures in space. We have agreed on ways of working together to protect the environment, to advance health, to cooperate in science and technology. We have agreed on means of preventing incidents at sea. We have established a commission to expand trade between our two nations. Most important, we have taken an historic first step in the limitation of nuclear strategic arms.
2022 June 29, David Pakman, 0:00 from the start, in Trump Assaulted Secret Service Agent, Smeared Ketchup on Wall, archived from the original on 30 June 2022:
Well yesterday was an historic day. Uh, there was last minute testimony scheduled in the January 6th committee from a former aide to Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows.
In standard English, the article an is used before vowel sounds, while a is used before consonant sounds. Alternatively, an can be found before an unstressed syllable beginning with /h/, as in "an historic". The /h/ may then become silent or is at least very weakly articulated. This usage is favoured by only 6% of British speakers, and is only slightly more common in writing.[1]
Historically, an could also be found before one and before many words with initial ⟨u⟩, ⟨eu⟩ (now pronounced with initial /juː/, /jʊ/, /jə/), such as eunuch, unique, and utility. This is because those initial letters were pronounced as vowels. In writing, an remained usual before such words until the 19th century -- long after these words acquired initial consonant sounds in standard English. This is still occasionally seen.[2]
In the other direction, a can occur before a vowel in nonstandard (often dialectal) speech and in its written representations. Example: "ain't this a innerestin sitchation" (Moira Young, Blood Red Road).
The various article senses of a are all senses of an.
^ Fowler's Dictionary of Modern English Usage (2015, →ISBN, page 2: "Before words beginning with h the standard modern approach is to use a (never an) together with an aspirated h , but not to demur if others use an with minimal or nil aspiration given to the following h (an historic /әn (h)ɪsˈtɒrɪk/, an horrific /әn (h)ɒˈrɪfɪk/, etc.)." Fowler's goes on to source the 6% figure to Wells (third edition, 2008).
Thereupon, quoth he, "O woman, for sundry days I have seen thee attend the levée sans a word said; so tell me an thou have any requirement I may grant."
This is the same as the word a in such contexts, modified because of preceding a vowel sound (after an unpronounced h). The train was speeding along at a mile a minute.
direct marker for all general nouns other than personal proper nouns
Nagdalagan an lalaki pasiring sa baybayon.
The man ran towards the shore.
Kinakan kan ikos an sira. (Naga)
Kinaon kan ikos an sira. (Legazpi)
The cat ate the fish.
Usage notes
This particle is analyzed as the definite article (i.e., the) when used alone, and the indefinite article (i.e., a or an) when used with the numeral "saro".
“an” in Martalar, Umberto Martello, Bellotto, Alfonso (1974) Dizionario della lingua Cimbra dei Sette Communi vicentini, 1st edition, Roana, Italy: Instituto di Cultura Cimbra A. Dal Pozzo
Bělá se tam, bělá žena, ana malé dítě nese. ― A white form can be seen there, a white woman who is carrying a child.
Vidíš-li poutníka, an dlouhou lučinou spěchá ku cíli, než červánky pohynou? ― Do you see a traveller hastening ere the twilight passes away across the long meadows towards a destination?
A lengthened form /aːn/ is possible in non-prepositional uses, e.g. in the prefix an- or the adverb daran. This was formerly widespread, but is now chiefly restricted to Austria and Switzerland (where it is optional). Compare similarly the distinction between in and ein-.
(any relation to an object or attribute regardless of time and space)of, on, in, for, about
an einem Roman schreiben ― to write on a novel
Mangel an Lebensmitteln ― lack of food
Alle Menschen sind frei und gleich an Würde und Rechten geboren ― All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.
Er ist schuld an dem Unglück ― He is responsible for the misfortune
Das mag ich nicht an ihm ― I don't like that about him
Usage notes
Usually used to refer to something being on a vertical surface, as opposed to auf, which usually points to a horizontal surface.
When followed by the masculine/neuter definite article in the dative case (i.e. dem(“the”)), the two words generally contract to am(“on the”) if not emphasized.
When followed by the neuter definite article in the accusative case (i.e. das(“the”)), the two words generally contract to ans(“on the”) if not emphasized.
D: Triggers lenition after de, do, and i (except of d, t), no mutation with idir, and eclipsis otherwise (varies by dialect); s lenites to ts; s always lenites with feminine nouns, even with prepositions that normally trigger eclipsis, but does not lenite at all with masculine nouns E: Triggers eclipsis H: Triggers h-prothesis L: Triggers lenition (except of d, t; s lenites to ts) T: Triggers t-prothesis
or rather, or on the contrary (where the opinion of the speaker or the probability inclines to the second interrogative clause, and this is made emphatic, as a corrective of the former)
or, or rather, or indeed, or perhaps (where, as is frequent, the first part of the interrogation is not expressed, but is to be supplied from the context, an begins the interrogation, but it does not begin an absolute – i.e., non-disjunctive – interrogation)
denoting uncertainty by itself, without a verb of doubting
(chiefly in and after the Augustean period)standing for sīve
where the first disjunctive clause is to be supplied from the general idea or where an stands for utrum or necne
Since in such distributive sentences expressive of doubt, the opinion of the speaker or the probability usually inclines to the second, i.e. to the clause beginning with an, the expressions haud sciō an, nesciō an, and dubitō an incline to an affirmative signification, “I almost know”, “I am inclined to think”, “I almost think”, “I might say”, “I might assert that”, etc., for “perhaps”, “probably”.
Sometimes the distributive clause beginning with an designates directly the opposite, the more improbable, the negative; in which case nesciō an, haud sciō an, etc., like the English I know not whether, signify “I think that not”, “I believe that not”, etc.
Usage notes
Used with utrum(“whether”) in the construction utrum...an(“whether...or”):
Nescio quid intersit, utrum nunc veniam, an ad decem annos.
I know not what matter it is, whether I come now or after ten years.
ăn in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
an in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book, London: Macmillan and Co.
to offer a person the alternative of... or..: optionem alicui dare, utrum...an
it is a debated point whether... or..: in contentione ponitur, utrum...an
it is a difficult point, disputed question: magna quaestio est (followed by an indirect question)
to keep, celebrate a festival: diem festum agere (of an individual)
^ De Vaan, Michiel (2008) Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN
Transcriptions of Mandarin into the Latin script often do not distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without indication of tone.
In later non-Northern Middle English, a is usually found before consonants other than /h/, while an is usually found preceding vowels and /h/. However, an often occurs before any consonant in earlier Middle English.
In early Middle English, the indefinite article is often omitted; occasional omission persists into later Middle English.
Inflected forms of the indefinite article are sometimes found in early Middle English; see the inflection table below.
995. Anglo-Saxon Gospels, Translation, Gospel of Saint Matthew, chapter 8, verse 8.
Ðā andswarode sē hundredes ealdor and ðus cwæþ, Drihten, ne eom ic wyrðe, ðæt ðū ingange under mīne þecene; ac cweþ ðīn ān word, and mīn cnapa biþ ġehǣled.
Then answered the centurion, and said thus, Lord, I am not worthy, that you enter under my roof; but say your word only, and my boy will be healed.
c.800–825, Diarmait, Milan Glosses on the Psalms, published in Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus (reprinted 1987, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), edited and with translations by Whitley Stokes and John Strachan, vol. I, pp. 7–483, Ml. 112b13
Is demniu liunn a n-ad·chiam hua sulib ol·daas an ro·chluinemmar hua chluasaib.
What we see with the eyes is more certain for us than what we hear with the ears.
1888 [1388], Romuald Hube, editor, Zbiór rot przysiąg sądowych poznańskich, kościańskich, kaliskich, sieradzkich, piotrkowskich i dobrzyszyckich z końca wieku XIV i pierwszych lat wieku XV, Greater Poland, page 5:
Wlost umouil Swenthoslauem rok, an gi na tem rocze ianl
[Włost umówił z Świętosławem rok, an ji na tem roce jął]
B. Sieradzka-Baziur, Ewa Deptuchowa, Joanna Duska, Mariusz Frodyma, Beata Hejmo, Dorota Janeczko, Katarzyna Jasińska, Krystyna Kajtoch, Joanna Kozioł, Marian Kucała, Dorota Mika, Gabriela Niemiec, Urszula Poprawska, Elżbieta Supranowicz, Ludwika Szelachowska-Winiarzowa, Zofia Wanicowa, Piotr Szpor, Bartłomiej Borek, editors (2011–2015), “an”, in Słownik pojęciowy języka staropolskiego [Conceptual Dictionary of Old Polish] (in Polish), Kraków: IJP PAN, →ISBN
IPA(key): (before a, o, u or a broad consonant)/ən̪ˠ/, (before broad g or k)/əŋ/, (before e, i or a slender consonant)/əɲ/, (colloquial before a consonant)/ə/
IPA(key): (before a, o, u or a broad consonant)/ən̪ˠ/, (before broad g or k)/əŋ/, (before e, i or a slender consonant)/əɲ/, (colloquial before a consonant)/ə/
Particle
an
Used together with a dependent form of a verb to form the interrogative.
Usage notes
Before verbs beginning with b, f, m or p, the form am is used. Before bheil(“am, is, are”), the form a is also used.
Lương Bèn (2011) Từ điển Tày-Việt [Tay-Vietnamese dictionary] (in Vietnamese), Thái Nguyên: Nhà Xuất bản Đại học Thái Nguyên
Lục Văn Pảo, Hoàng Tuấn Nam (2003) Hoàng Triều Ân, editor, Từ điển chữ Nôm Tày [A Dictionary of (chữ) Nôm Tày] (in Vietnamese), Hanoi: Nhà xuất bản Khoa học Xã hội
Léopold Michel Cadière (1910) Dictionnaire Tày-Annamite-Français [Tày-Vietnamese-French Dictionary] (in French), Hanoi: Impressions d'Extrême-Orient
direct marker for all general nouns other than personal proper nouns
Midalagan an lalaki paingon ha baybayon.
The man ran towards the shore.
Gikaon han iring an isda.
The cat ate the fish.
Usage notes
This particle is analyzed as the definite article (i.e., the) when used alone, and the indefinite article (i.e., a or an) when used with the numeral "usa" plus "ka" that quantifies an object/object that it modifies.
1867, “A YOLA ZONG”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 1, page 84:
Lidge w'ouse an a milagh, tis gaay an louthee:
Lie with us on the clover, 'tis fair and sheltered:
References
Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828) William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867
Note: except for yín, object pronouns have a high tone following a low or mid tone monosyllabic verb, and a mid tone following a high tone. For complex verbs, the tone does not change.