gan

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English

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɡæn/
  • (file)
  • Rhymes: -æn

Etymology 1

Perhaps connected with Middle English gane, or possibly from Welsh geneu, Cornish ganau (mouth).

This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.
Particularly: “Probably from Proto-Indo-European *ǵénus (cheek, jaw, chin).

Alternative forms

Noun

gan (uncountable)

  1. (obsolete, UK, thieves' cant) Mouth.

Etymology 2

Verb

gan

  1. (archaic) simple past of gin

Etymology 3

Probably a variant of gang, from Middle English gangen, from Old English gangan (to step; walk; go).

Alternative forms

Verb

gan (third-person singular simple present gans, present participle gannin, simple past went or gan, past participle gone)

  1. (Northumbria) To go.
    • 2011, Chris Dockerty, Ramblings of a Geordie:
      The one problem I had here was my broad Geordie accent which the teachers tried their hardest to make me lose. I couldn't understand their problem with it because I could understand myself. Whenever I told them, "Am gannin yem", they would say, "No, Christopher. It's not "am gannin yem", it's "I am going home".

References

  1. ^
  2. ^ Matasović, Ranko (2009) Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 9), Leiden: Brill, →ISBN, page 158

Further reading

  • Frank Graham (1987) The New Geordie Dictionary, →ISBN
  • Newcastle 1970s, Scott Dobson and Dick Irwin,
  • Todd's Geordie Words and Phrases, George Todd, Newcastle, 1977
  • A List of words and phrases in everyday use by the natives of Hetton-le-Hole in the County of Durham, F.M.T.Palgrave, English Dialect Society vol.74, 1896,
  • Northumberland Words, English Dialect Society, R. Oliver Heslop, 1893–4
  • A Dictionary of North East Dialect, Bill Griffiths, 2005, Northumbria University Press, →ISBN

Anagrams

Antillean Creole

Etymology

From French gant.

Noun

gan

  1. glove

Bambara

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

Verb

gan

  1. to jump

Etymology 2

Adjective

gan

  1. hot

Verb

gan

  1. (transitive) to heat up

References

Dharug

Pronunciation

Noun

gan

  1. reptile
  2. (specifically) goanna

References

  • Jakelin Troy (1993) The Sydney Language, Canberra, →ISBN, page 53

Dutch Low Saxon

Verb

gan

  1. Alternative spelling of gaon

Garo

Etymology

Borrowed from Bengali গান (gan).

Noun

gan

  1. song

Irish

Etymology

From Old Irish cen (besides; without), from Proto-Celtic *kina (on this side of); compare Middle Welsh am-gen (otherwise), Breton ken (otherwise).

Pronunciation

Preposition

gan (plus nominative, triggers no mutation in specific references but lenition in general references)

  1. without
  2. not (in conjunction with a verbal noun)

Usage notes

  • In standard written Irish, triggers lenition (except of d, s, t) of unmodified nouns, e.g. gan phingin (without a penny). Does not trigger lenition of modified nouns, e.g. gan pingin ina phóca (without a penny in his pocket). In the meaning ‘not’, does not trigger lenition of either a verbal noun or on the direct object of the verbal noun, e.g. gan ceannach (not to buy), gan pingin a shaothrú (not to earn a penny).
  • Unlike most prepositions, gan takes the nominative case of nouns, as shown by the lack of mutation of consonant-initial masculine singular nouns after the definite article, for example gan an plúr (without the flour), and the presence of t-prothesis of vowel-initial masculine singular nouns after the article, for example gan an t-airgead (without the money).
  • Unlike most prepositions, gan does not form prepositional pronouns, but is instead followed by the disjunctive form of a personal pronoun, for example gan mé (without me), gan sinn (without us), gan é (without him).

Derived terms

Further reading

Japanese

Romanization

gan

  1. Rōmaji transcription of がん
  2. Rōmaji transcription of ガン

Jawe

Noun

gan

  1. tattoo

References

  • André-Georges Haudricourt et Françoise Ozanne-Rivière, Dictionnaire thématique des langues de la région de Hienghène (Nouvelle-Calédonie) : pije - fwâi - nemi - jawe, Lacito - Documents, Asie-Austronésie 4, SELAF no. 212, Peeters, 1982

Latvian

Conjunction

gan

  1. both, and

Usage notes

Used in pairs: gan jauna, gan skaista "both young and beautiful"

Mandarin

Romanization

gan

  1. Nonstandard spelling of gān.
  2. Nonstandard spelling of gǎn.
  3. Nonstandard spelling of gàn.

Usage notes

  • 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.

Middle English

Etymology 1

From Old English ġeġn.

Preposition

gan

  1. Alternative form of gain (against)

Etymology 2

From Old English gān.

Verb

gan

  1. (Early Middle English, Northern) Alternative form of gon (to go)

Etymology 3

From Old English gān, ġegān.

Verb

gan

  1. Alternative form of gon (gone)

Northern Kurdish

Verb

gan (present stem -gê-)

  1. to have sexual intercourse with somebody, to fuck somebody

Noun

gan ?

  1. having sex, fucking

Nupe

Pronunciation

Verb

gan

  1. to exceed; to surpass
    Èmì mi li gan èmì u.My house is cleaner than her house.
    U ge gan kpáátá.It's the best. (literally, “It is good surpassing all”)
    Gànsìkiya ligwa gankò.The truth washes the hands more than soap.

Usage notes

Used to construct the comparative and superlative.

Derived terms

Old Dutch

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *gān.

Verb

gān

  1. to go

Conjugation

Derived terms

Descendants

  • Middle Dutch: gâen
    • Dutch: gaan
      • Afrikaans: gaan
      • Javindo: ha, haat
      • Jersey Dutch: xân, xâne
      • Petjo: gaan, haan
    • Limburgish: gaon

Further reading

  • gān”, in Oudnederlands Woordenboek, 2012

Old English

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *gān, from Proto-Germanic *gāną, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰeh₁- (to leave). The verb was defective in Germanic and may only have existed in the present tense.

Pronunciation

Verb

gān

  1. to go
    • late 10th century, Ælfric, "The Seven Sleepers"
      ...hē wolde gān ūt of ðām porte...
      ...he desired to go out of the town...
    • late 10th century, Ælfric, "Chair of Saint Peter"
      ...swā hwǣr swā hē ēode and hī ealle āstōdon ansunde ætforan him þe on ðām fænne ǣr lagon.
      ...wheresoever he went, and they all rose up sound before him, who aforetime lay in the mire.
  2. to walk
    • late 10th century, Ælfric, "Chair of Saint Peter"
      ...and hē lēop sona cunniġende his fēðes hwæðer hē cūðe gān.
      and he leapt up immediately, trying his power of motion, whether he could walk.
    • late 9th century, translation of Bede's Ecclesiastical History
      Sē wer meahte unēaðe þurh hine selfne ārīsan oþþe gān.
      The man could barely get up or walk by himself.
    • c. 990, Wessex Gospels, John 6:66
      Siþþan maniġe his leornungcneohta ċierdon onbæc and lenġ ne ēodon mid him.
      After that, many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.
  3. to enter
    • c. 990, Wessex Gospels, Matthew 24:38-39
      On þǣm dagum ǣr þǣm flōde wǣron menn etende and drincende, and wīfiġende and ġifte sellende, ōþ þone dæġ þe Nōe on þā earċe ēode, and hīe nysson ǣr sē flōd cōm and nam hīe ealle.
      In the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they didn't know until the flood came and took them all.

Usage notes

  • The expected present participle, gānde, is very rare. Instead gangende is almost always used, from the synonym gangan: Līf nis būtan gangendu sċadu ("Life is but a walking shadow").

Conjugation

Synonyms

Derived terms

Related terms

Descendants

Old Frisian

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *gān.

Verb

gān

  1. to go

Conjugation

Descendants

  • Saterland Frisian: geen (simple past, past participle of gunge)
  • West Frisian: gean

Old Saxon

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *gān.

Verb

gān

  1. to go

Conjugation

Descendants

Salar

Etymology

Cognate with Turkmen gan.

Pronunciation

  • (Dazhuang, Mengda, Hanbahe, Jiezi, Gaizi, Xunhua, Qinghai, Ili, Yining, Xinjiang) IPA(key):
  • (Chahandusi, Xunhua, Qinghai) IPA(key):

Noun

gan

  1. blood

Derived terms

  • gana (to bleed)

References

  • Tenishev, Edhem (1976), “gan”, in Stroj salárskovo jazyká [Grammar of Salar], Moscow, page 460
  • Ma, Chengjun; Han, Lianye; Ma, Weisheng (December 2010), “gan”, in 米娜瓦尔 艾比布拉 (Minavar Abibra), editor, 撒维汉词典 (Sāwéihàncídiǎn) [Salar-Uyghur-Chinese dictionary], 1st edition, Beijing, →ISBN, page 218
  • 马伟 (Ma Wei), 朝克 (Chao Ke) (2014), “gan”, in 撒拉语366条会话读本 [Salar 366 Conversation Reader], 1st edition, 社会科学文献出版社 (Social Science Literature Press), →ISBN, page 109
  • Yakup, Abdurishid (2002), “gan”, in An Ili Salar Vocabulary: Introduction and a Provisional Salar-English Lexicon, Tokyo: University of Tokyo, →ISBN, page 104

Scots

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Northern Middle English gan, from Old English gān (to go). Past tense supplied by Old English wenden (to wend).

Verb

gan (third-person singular simple present gans, present participle gan, simple past went or wett, past participle been)

  1. to go

Scottish Gaelic

Pronoun

gan

  1. them (direct object)
    A bheil sibh gan creidsinn?Do you believe them?

Usage notes

  • Before words beginning with b, f, m or p gam is used instead.

Related terms

Sumerian

Romanization

gan

  1. Romanization of 𒃶 (gan)

Ternate

Etymology

From older gani.

Pronunciation

Noun

gan

  1. Alternative form of gani (louse)

References

  • Rika Hayami-Allen (2001) A descriptive study of the language of Ternate, the northern Moluccas, Indonesia, University of Pittsburgh

Tok Pisin

Etymology

From English gun.

Noun

gan

  1. gun

Turkmen

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Turkic *kiān (blood).

Pronunciation

Noun

gan (definite accusative gany, plural ganlar)

  1. blood

Declension

Derived terms

Further reading

  • gan” in Enedilim.com
  • gan” in Webonary.org

Vietnamese

Etymology

From Proto-Vietic *t-kaːn, from Old Chinese (OC *s.kˤa) (SV: can). Cognate with Chut təkaːn¹ ("bold").

Displaced native lòm, now only found in the compounds đỏ lòm and chua lòm.

Pronunciation

Noun

(classifier ) gan

  1. (anatomy) a liver
  2. (figurative) audacity; gall; balls
    to ganaudacious
    nhát gan / gan thỏ đếchicken

Noun

(classifier cây) gan

  1. (botany) Malus doumeri
    Synonym: sơn tra

Adjective

gan

  1. hepatic
  2. courageous, brave, tough

Derived terms

Derived terms

Anagrams

Volapük

Pronunciation

Noun

gan (nominative plural gans)

  1. (male or female) goose

Declension

Hypernyms

Hyponyms

Derived terms

See also

Welsh

Etymology 1

From Middle Welsh cant, from Old Welsh cant, from Proto-Celtic *kanta. Cognate with Breton gant and Ancient Greek κατά (katá, against; downwards).

Pronunciation

Preposition

gan (triggers soft mutation)

  1. (North Wales) used with bod to indicate possession
    Synonym: gyda
    Mae gen i wallt hir.
    I have long hair.
    (literally, “Long hair is with me.”)
  2. by (after a passive construction)
    Cafodd y car ei ddwyn gan ddau llanc.
    The car was stolen by two youths.
  3. by (authorship)
  4. used with verbal noun to indicate an action simultaneous with that of the main verb, while, whilst
    • King, Gareth (1993) Modern Welsh: A Comprehensive Grammar (Routledge Grammars), London and New York: Routledge, →ISBN, page 131:
      Aeth o gwmpas y stafell gan ofyn yr un cwestiwn i bawb.
      He went around the room asking everyone the same question.
Usage notes

See gan on Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru for more information.

Inflection

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

Adjective

gan

  1. Soft mutation of can.

Noun

gan

  1. Soft mutation of can.

References

  1. ^ R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “gan”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies

Mutation

Welsh mutation
radical soft nasal aspirate
can gan nghan chan
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Wolof

Pronunciation

Noun

gan (definite form gan gi)

  1. stranger
  2. guest

Yoruba

Alternative forms

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

Verb

gàn

  1. (transitive) to disparage, criticize, belittle
    Synonyms: pẹ̀gàn, ṣáátá, ṣàbùkù, kẹ́gàn
    ọ̀tá mí gànmy enemy disparages me
Usage notes
  • gan before a direct object
Derived terms
Related terms

Etymology 2

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

Verb

gan

  1. (intransitive) to become stiff, to harden
    kankéré ti ganThe concrete has hardened
Derived terms

Etymology 3

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

Verb

gán

  1. (transitive) to stub, to clear (plants or a forest)
    Synonym: ṣán
    àgbẹ́ gán' igbóThe farmer cleared the forest
Derived terms

Etymology 4

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

Verb

gán

  1. to use something very sparingly
    Synonym: sún
    mo ń gán owó lòI am using money very sparingly
Derived terms

Etymology 5

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

Verb

gán

  1. to hit something with a thrown or spun object
    mo ń gán owó lòI am using money very sparingly
Derived terms

Etymology 6

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

Verb

gán

  1. to tack or stich something together
    Synonym: rán
    mo gán etí aṣọ pọ̀I hemmed the edge of the cloth together
Derived terms
Related terms
  • gbá (to stich together the edges of a mat)

Etymology 7

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

Verb

gán

  1. to snatch something in the air, especially with one hand
    Synonyms: hán, wọ́n
    mo fọwọ́ gán bọ́ọ̀lù náà pákóI used my hand to snatch the ball swiftly from the air
Derived terms