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on-, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
on- in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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English
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Middle English on-, from Old English on-, an-, from Proto-West Germanic *ana-, from Proto-Germanic *an-, *ana- (“on-”), from Proto-Indo-European *ano-, *nō- (“on”). Cognate with Dutch aan-, German an-, Swedish an-. Doublet of ana-.
Prefix
on-
- on, at, toward, upon.
- oncome, onset, onfall, onlay
Synonyms
Derived terms
Anagrams
Dutch
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
From Middle Dutch on-, from Old Dutch un-, from Proto-West Germanic *un-, from Proto-Germanic *un-, from Proto-Indo-European *n̥-.
Prefix
on-
- un-, in- (expresses negation)
- bad, grave, horrifying
- on- + mens (“human being”) → onmens (“brute, barbarian”)
- on- + dier (“animal”) → ondier (“monster”)
- on- + ding (“thing”) → onding (“something unacceptable, absurd”)
- on- + kruid (“herb”) → onkruid (“weed”)
- on- + weer (“weather”) → onweer (“storm, severe weather”)
Derived terms
Descendants
Etymology 2
From Middle Dutch on, from Old Dutch *āna, from Proto-Germanic *ēnu (“without”), from Proto-Indo-European *anew, *enew (“without”).
Prefix
on-
- on, without
Derived terms
Luxembourgish
Pronunciation
Prefix
on-
- un-, in-
Derived terms
Middle Dutch
Etymology
From Old Dutch un-, from Proto-Germanic *un-, from Proto-Indo-European *n̥-.
Prefix
on-
- un-, in-
Derived terms
Descendants
Old English
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
From Proto-West Germanic *an-, from Proto-Germanic *an, *ana (“on”).
Alternative forms
Prefix
on-
- forming verbs and adjectives from participles and nouns, with various senses of on, upon, to, there, thither
- onhlinian ― to lean on
- ondōn ― to don, put on clothes
- (inchoative) in, into; prefix used to intensify an action or to denote origin or initiation
- onlīehtan ― to enlighten
- onstellan, onstiellan ― to establish, institute, install, originate
Usage notes
- This is a verbal prefix, and is always unstressed.
Derived terms
Etymology 2
From unstressed form of and- (“and-”).
Prefix
on-
- denoting reverse action
- onbindan ― to untie, unbind
- onfealdan ― to unfold
- off, away
- onberan ― to carry off
Usage notes
- This is a verbal prefix, and is always unstressed.
Derived terms
Ye'kwana
Pronunciation
Prefix
on-
- allomorph of ön- (negative/sociative irrealis prefix) used for stems that have a first vowel o or u.