an-

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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.

Alternative forms

Prefix

an-

  1. Alternative form of on-
    ancome, aneal, anent

Etymology 2

From Ancient Greek ἀν- (an-). Doublet of un- and in- .

Prefix

an-

  1. not; used to make words that have a sense opposite to the word (or stem) to which the prefix is attached. Used with stems that begin with vowels and "h".
  2. Without, lacking.
    anoxia (without oxygen), anandrous (without male parts)
Synonyms
Derived terms
Related terms

See also

Anagrams

Aromanian

Prefix

an-

  1. Alternative form of ãn-

Classical Nahuatl

Alternative forms

  • am- (when followed by a vowel or a consonant which is labial)

Prefix

an-

  1. Subject prefix for verbs; it indicates that the subject is second-person plural; you, you all.

Cornish

Prefix

an-

  1. un-, non-

Derived terms

References

  • Akademi Kernewek Gerlyver Kernewek (FSS) Cornish Dictionary (SWF), 2018, published 2018, page 11

Dutch

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-) (ἀν- (an-) immediately preceding a vowel).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɑn/
  • (file)

Prefix

an-

  1. an-: Not, without, opposite of.

Derived terms

French

Pronunciation

Prefix

an-

  1. in-, an-. Alternative form of a- before a vowel or h

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

Prefix

an- (seperable verb prefix)

  1. 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)
  2. near, over, towards (the subject)
    Synonyms: her-, herbei-
    Antonyms: ab-, weg-, fort-
    an- + ‎ziehen (to pull) → ‎anziehen (to attract, pull towards one)
    an- + ‎kaufen (to buy) → ‎ankaufen (to buy so as to form a stock, buy up)
  3. expresses a beginning, partial or slight action
    Antonyms: durch-, fertig-, weg-
    an- + ‎knabbern (to nibble) → ‎anknabbern (to nibble part of, start to nibble)
    an- + ‎braten (to fry) → ‎anbraten (to sear, fry outwardly or slightly)
    an- + ‎zahlen (to pay) → ‎anzahlen (to pay down, pay part of)
  4. on, in use
    Antonym: aus-
    an- + ‎stellen (to put) → ‎anstellen (to turn on)

Usage notes

  • Also occurs in many nouns, but these are generally deverbal.

Derived terms

Ido

Etymology

From an (at, on).

Prefix

an-

  1. at, on

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-

  1. (with adjectives, always spelled with a hyphen) very
    Synonyms: fíor-, rí-
  2. (with adjectives) over-, excessively, intensely
  3. (with nouns) great, excessive
Usage notes
  • Triggers lenition (except of d, s, and t):
  • an- + ‎beag → ‎an-bheag (very small)
  • an- + ‎deas → ‎an-deas (very nice)
  • In some dialects (e.g. Aran), it also changes s to ts:
  • an- + ‎saor → ‎an-tsaor (very cheap) (standard form an-saor)
  • 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

Prefix

an- (usually spelled without a hyphen)

  1. in-, un-, not
  2. bad, unnatural
Derived terms

Etymology 3

From Ancient Greek ἀν- (an-).

Prefix

an-

  1. an- (not)
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

Italian

Prefix

an-

  1. Alternative form of a- indicating lack or loss

Derived terms

Luxembourgish

Etymology

From the preposition an, from Proto-Germanic *in. Compare German ein-, English in-.

Pronunciation

Prefix

an-

  1. in- (indicates physical or metaphorical motion into something)

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

Malagasy

Prefix

an-

  1. prefix element of an- -ana

See also

Middle English

Prefix

an-

  1. Alternative form of en-

Middle Welsh

Etymology

From Proto-Brythonic *an-, from Proto-Celtic *an-, from Proto-Indo-European *n̥-.

Prefix

an-

  1. un-, not

Derived terms

Descendants

  • Welsh: an-, af-

Old English

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *aina-, from Proto-Germanic *aina- (one, uni-), equivalent to Old English ān (one).

Pronunciation

Prefix

ān-

  1. 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)
  2. lone, alone
    ān- + *genġa (walker)āngenġa (loner)
    ān- + *setla (settler)ānsetla (hermit)

Related terms

Old French

Prefix

an-

  1. Alternative form of en-

Usage notes

Old Irish

Etymology 1

From Proto-Celtic *an-, from Proto-Indo-European *n̥-.

Alternative forms

Prefix

an-

  1. un-, not
  2. bad
Derived terms
Descendants
  • Irish: an-
  • Scottish Gaelic: an-

Etymology 2

Uncertain. Maybe related to Welsh en- and Gaulish ande- in proper names Andecarus (literally very dear) and Anderoudus (literally very red). Considered the same word as an- (un-) by DIL (see Further reading).

Prefix

an-

  1. very
Derived terms
Descendants
  • Irish: an-
  • Scottish Gaelic: an-

Etymology 3

Unknown.

Prefix

an-

  1. denoting a movement away from some reference point, used to form adverbs of place, for example anúas (from above)
Derived terms
Related terms
Descendants
  • Irish: an-
  • Scottish Gaelic: an-

References

  1. ^ 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
  2. ^ 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

Pali

Alternative forms

Prefix

an-

  1. Alternative form of a- used before words beginning with vowels

Derived terms

References

  • Pali Text Society (1921–1925), “an-”, in Pali-English Dictionary‎, London: Chipstead

Pipil

Pronunciation

Prefix

an-

  1. (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 . Example:
Anhajsiket peyna.
You came early.

See also

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

Prefix

an-

  1. forming words with the sense of negation, 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

Prefix

an-

  1. Combining form of an

Derived terms

Scottish Gaelic

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Old Irish an-.

Prefix

an-

  1. un-, anti-
  2. bad, unnatural

Derived terms

Related terms

Prefix

an-

  1. Used to emphasise the root.

Derived terms

Spanish

Prefix

an-

  1. an-

Derived terms

Further reading

Swedish

Etymology

From the Old Swedish and- meaning “against/towards”.

Prefix

an-

  1. against, towards

Derived terms

Anagrams

Welsh

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

From Middle Welsh an-, from Proto-Brythonic *an-, from Proto-Celtic *an-, from Proto-Indo-European *n̥-. Cognate with Cornish an-.

Prefix

an-

  1. 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).

Prefix

an- (not productive)

  1. intensive prefix
  2. in-, inside, inward
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

  1. ^ Morris Jones, John (1913) A Welsh Grammar, Historical and Comparative, Oxford: Clarendon Press, § 156 i 5

Ye'kwana

Pronunciation

Prefix

an-

  1. allomorph of ön- (negative/sociative irrealis prefix) used for stems that begin with a or e.