een

Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word een. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word een, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say een in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word een you have here. The definition of the word een will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofeen, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
See also: Een, e'en, -een, eên, -éen, and één

English

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /iːn/
  • (file)
  • Rhymes: -iːn

Etymology 1

Noun

een

  1. (archaic and Scotland, Northern England) plural of eye
    • 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book I, Canto IV”, in The Faerie Queene. , London: [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 21:
      And eke with fatnesse swollen were his eyne
    • 1902, John Buchan, The Outgoing of the Tide:
      But the sight of her eyes was not a thing to forget. John Dodds said they were the een of a deer with the Devil ahint them; and indeed, they would so appal an onlooker that a sudden unreasoning terror came into his heart, while his feet would impel him to flight.
References

Etymology 2

From a contraction of even.

Adverb

een (not comparable)

  1. (dialectal, Northern England) even.

Etymology 3

From even (evening).

Noun

een (plural eens)

  1. (poetic or dialectal, Scotland) evening.
Synonyms

Anagrams

Afrikaans

Afrikaans numbers (edit)
10
 ←  0 1 2  →  10  → 
    Cardinal: een
    Ordinal: eerste
    Ordinal abbreviation: 1ste

Etymology

From Dutch een, from Middle Dutch een, from Old Dutch ēn, ein, from Proto-West Germanic *ain, from Proto-Germanic *ainaz, from Proto-Indo-European *óynos.

Pronunciation

Numeral

een

  1. one

Derived terms

Anagrams

Central Franconian

Alternative forms

  • ein (Kölsch; Westerwald)
  • ään (eastern Moselle Franconian)

Etymology

From Middle High German een, from Old High German ein.

Pronunciation

Numeral

een

  1. (Ripuarian, western Moselle Franconian) one
    Loß mich der nur een Frooch stelle.
    Let me ask you just one question.
    Wanns de keene Steff häs, kann ich der eener jevve.
    If you don't have a pencil, I can give you one.

Declension

  • Nominative/Accusative:
    • Attributive: ee Mann or eene Mann, een Frau, ee Kend. The form ee becomes een before vowels and optionally elsewhere, whereas the feminine is always een.
    • Independent without determiner: eener or eene m, een f, eent or (younger) eens n.
    • Independent with determiner: dä/die/dat een or dä/die/dat eene.
  • Dative:
    • Without determiner: eenem Mann, eener Frau, eenem Kend.
    • With determiner: däm eene m/n, dä eene or dä eener f.
  • Eastern Moselle Franconian distinguishes masculine nominative and accusative. Masculine ää, ääner are nominative, whereas masculine ääne is accusative.
  • Westernmost Ripuarian has no dative forms. Moreover it uses the velarised stem eng- before vocalic endings and always in the feminine.

See also

Dutch

Etymology

From Middle Dutch êen, from Old Dutch ēn, ein, from Proto-West Germanic *ain, from Proto-Germanic *ainaz, from Proto-Indo-European *óynos.

Pronunciation 1

Article

een (contracted form 'n)

  1. (indefinite article) Placed before a singular noun, indicating a general case of a person or thing: a, an. Compare with de and het.
Descendants
  • Berbice Creole Dutch: en
  • Negerhollands: een
  • Jersey Dutch: ên, en
  • Skepi Creole Dutch: aen

Pronunciation 2

Numeral

Dutch cardinal numbers
 <  0 1 2  > 
    Cardinal : een
    Ordinal : eerst

een

  1. one
Derived terms
Descendants
  • Berbice Creole Dutch: en
  • Jersey Dutch: êne, ên
  • Negerhollands: een, en
  • Skepi Creole Dutch: en
  • Trió: ein_me
See also

Usage notes

When it is unclear from the context whether een is the number (pronounced /eːn/) or the indefinite article (pronounced /ən/), the former is written with acute accents: één (one). In all other cases it is written without. For example, een van die unambiguously means “one of those”, so it is written without acute accents. However, een appel could mean both “one apple” and “an apple”, so if the former is intended one would write één appel.

When only the first letter of één is capitalised, the acute accent is usually dropped from the upper case E: Eén.

Examples
  • Een hoed: a hat; een oor; an ear.
  • Eén voor allen, allen voor één: one for all, all for one. (The motto of The Three Musketeers.)

Anagrams

Dutch Low Saxon

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

Article

een m (indefinite article)

  1. (Achterhoeks, Drents, Sallands, Stellingwerfs, Twents, Urkers, Veluws) a, an

Etymology 2

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

Numeral

een

  1. (Achterhoeks, Drents, Sallands, Twents, Veluws) one (1)
    Een hoed: a hat; een ore; an ear.
    Eén veur allen, allen veur één: one for all, all for one. (The motto of The Three Musketeers.)

Further reading

Usage notes

  • When it is unclear from the context whether een is the number or the indefinite article, the former is written with acute accents: één. In all other cases it is written without. For example, een van die is 'one of those'. But een appel can mean both 'one apple' and 'an apple', so if the former is intended one would write één appel.

Finnish

Noun

een

  1. genitive singular of ee

Anagrams

German Low German

German Low German cardinal numbers
 <  0 1 2  > 
    Cardinal : een
    Ordinal : eerst

Alternative forms

  • (in other dialects, including Low Prussian) en
  • (in some dialects) ein
  • (East Pomeranian) ain
  • (for others, see en)

Article

een m or n

  1. (in some dialects, including Low Prussian) Alternative spelling of en : a, an

Numeral

een

  1. (in some dialects) Alternative spelling of en : one (1)

Coordinate terms

Hunsrik

Hunsrik numbers (edit)
10
 ←  0 1 2  →  10  → 
    Cardinal: een, enns
    Ordinal: eerst
    Adverbial: eenmol
    Fractional: ganz

Etymology

Inherited from Middle High German ein, from Old High German ein, from Proto-West Germanic *ain, from Proto-Germanic *ainaz, from Proto-Indo-European *óynos.

Cognate with German ein and Luxembourgish een.

Pronunciation

Numeral

een

  1. one

Declension

References

  1. ^ Piter Kehoma Boll (2021) “een”, in Dicionário Hunsriqueano Riograndense–Português [Riograndenser Hunsrickisch–Portuguese Dictionary]‎ (in Portuguese), 3 edition, Ivoti: Riograndenser Hunsrickisch, page 40

Luxembourgish

Luxembourgish cardinal numbers
1 2  > 
    Cardinal : een

Etymology

From Middle High German ein, from Old High German ein, from Proto-West Germanic *ain, from Proto-Germanic *ainaz, from Proto-Indo-European *óynos.

Pronunciation

Pronoun

een

  1. (indefinite) one

Middle Dutch

Etymology

From Old Dutch ēn, ein, from Proto-West Germanic *ain, from Proto-Germanic *ainaz, from Proto-Indo-European *óynos.

Pronunciation

Article

êen

  1. a (indefinite article)
  2. a certain (before people's names)

Inflection

This article needs an inflection-table template.

Descendants

  • Dutch: een, 'n (/ən/)
  • Zealandic: 'n

Numeral

êen

  1. one

Inflection

This numeral needs an inflection-table template.

Descendants

  • Dutch: een (/eːn/)
  • Limburgish: ein
  • Zealandic: eên

Pronoun

êen

  1. one, someone, a certain person
    Synonym: iemen
  2. something
  3. one (indefinite)
    Synonym: men

Inflection

This pronoun needs an inflection-table template.

Further reading

North Frisian

North Frisian numbers (edit)
10
1 2  →  10  → 
    Cardinal: een, ian
    Ordinal: iarst

Etymology

From Old Frisian ēn.

Numeral

een (m.) (f. or n. ian)

  1. (Föhr-Amrum) one

Coordinate terms

Old Frisian

Pronunciation

Numeral

een

  1. Late Old Frisian spelling of ēn

Article

een

  1. Late Old Frisian spelling of ēn

References

  • Bremmer, Rolf H. (2009) An Introduction to Old Frisian: History, Grammar, Reader, Glossary, Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company, →ISBN

Saterland Frisian

Etymology

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Pronunciation

Numeral

een

  1. feminine of aan
  2. neuter of aan

Article

een

  1. feminine of aan
  2. neuter of aan

References

  • Marron C. Fort (2015) “een”, in Saterfriesisches Wörterbuch mit einer phonologischen und grammatischen Übersicht, Buske, →ISBN

Scots

Etymology 1

Noun

een

  1. plural of ee

Etymology 2

Numeral

een

  1. Doric, South Northern, and Shetland form of ane (one)

Yola

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

From Middle English eend, from Old English ende, from Proto-West Germanic *andī.

Alternative forms

Noun

een

  1. end
    Synonym: endeen
    • 1867, GLOSSARY OF THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY:
      Ill een.
      Ill end.

Etymology 2

Noun

een

  1. Alternative form of ieen (eyes)

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, page 37 & 38