# anent
## English
### Etymology

From Middle English anent, anentes, anempt (“insofar as, inasmuch as, in comparison with, with respect to, as regards, concerning, in the opinion or judgment of; next to, close to, up to, near, adjoining, across from, over against, facing”), from Old English on efn (“by; near”), from on +‎ efn. Compare Dutch neven, German neben.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /əˈnɛnt/
* Audio (Southern England):(file)
* Audio (US):(file)
* Rhymes: -ɛnt

### Preposition

anent
* (now rare) Concerning, with regard to, about, in respect to, as to, insofar as, inasmuch as, apropos.
    Synonyms: apropos, as for; see also Thesaurus:about
** 1922 February, James Joyce, “[Episode 16]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company, […], →OCLC:Mr Bloom and Stephen entered the cabman’s shelter, an unpretentious wooden structure, where, prior to then, he had rarely, if ever, been before; the former having previously whispered to the latter a few hints anent the keeper of it […]
** 1937, L. Ron Hubbard, letter to Russell Hays, quoted in Literary Correspondence: Letters and Journals, p. 101,
    I have just found out something with which to repay that very kind favor of yours anent the "lift" angle on stories.
** 1955, Vladimir Nabokov, chapter 11, in Lolita, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: G[eorge] P[almer] Putnam’s Sons, published August 1958, →OCLC, part 1, page 53:The wings of the driver's Marlenesque nose shone, having shed or burned up their ration of powder, and she kept up an elegant monologue anent the local traffic, […]
** 1984, New York Times:This question remains a vital consideration anent the debate over the possibility of limiting nuclear war to military objectives, […]
** 2015, LT Wolf, The World King (fiction), →ISBN:The invasion of privacy anent banking and financial activities was mainly an outcome of the income tax and the Drug War
* (obsolete) In the opinion or judgment of.
* (obsolete) Against, in front of, fronting; before; opposite; over against, on the other side.
** 2005, R.T. Smith, “Ina Grove”, in The Virginia Quarterly Review, volume 81, number 4, page 230:[…] if Painter did ever abide in the old bark mill said to be anent his brother's freehold.
* (obsolete) In a line with; side by side with; on a level with.
** 1865, William Stott Banks, Wakefield Words, page 4:ANENT, opposite. Usually "ovver-anent."

#### Derived terms

* thereanent
* whereanent

### References

* Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
* “anent”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

### Anagrams

* annet

## Scots
### Etymology

From Middle English anent, anempt (“insofar as, inasmuch as, in comparison with, with respect to, as regards, concerning, in the opinion or judgment of; next to, close to, up to, near, adjoining, across from, over against, facing”), from Old English onemn (“by; near”); equivalent to modern in + even. Compare Dutch neven, German neben.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: [əˈnɛnt]
* (Mid Northern Scots) IPA: [əˈnænt]

### Preposition

anent
* in a line with, on a level with, alongside of
* before the face of, in the presence of (of persons)
* fronting, opposite, over against (of position)
* concerning, about

#### Derived terms

* foreanent (“over against, opposite to; on the opposite side”)
* hereanent (“concerning”)
* thareanent (“the matter already mentioned, relating to what has been said above”)

### Adverb

anent (not comparable)
* in front, opposite