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if'n. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
if'n, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
if'n in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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English
Etymology 1
Contraction
if'n
- (archaic) Contraction of if and when.
Etymology 2
Uncertain. The spelling ef'n is attested since at least 1909. Perhaps a compound of if and an (“if”) (a variant, attested since Middle English, of and (“if”); compare an if and gin (“if”)); if an is attested since at least the 1700s. Alternatively, perhaps a compound of if and -in', generalized from conjunctional uses of considering, excepting, and so on, or of if and -en as in offen (“off”), outen (“out”) (which goes back to Old English ūtan), etc. Compare less'n. Lastly, as with the etymology above, it may be a contraction of if (and) when.
Conjunction
if'n
- (chiefly Southern US, South Midland US, and some dialects in British) If.
2007, Robert H. Henry, Bowden's South Pass Justice, page 311:We'll I'm try'n to cooperate and let you know where I'll be if n you need me!
Alternative forms
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 “iffen”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Grammarphobia: iffen, which also says the Dictionary of American Regional English speculates that if and is the origin
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Paul Dickerson Brandes, Jeutonne Brewer, Dialect clash in America: issues and answers (1977), page 296: The en suffix also appears in words other than verbs, e.g., outen in "Git outen thishere house" offen in "I done bought it offen him fer tin cints"; and iffen in "Iffen you'uz to tell me he'uz daid, I wou'nt believe ye."
Anagrams