# an-
## English
### Etymology 1

From Middle English an-, from Old English an-, on- (“on-”), from Proto-West Germanic *ana-, from Proto-Germanic *ana- (“on”). More at on.

#### Alternative forms

* on-, a-

#### Prefix

an-
* Alternative form of on-
    ancome, aneal, anent

### Etymology 2

From Ancient Greek ἀν- (an-). Doublet of un- and in- .

#### Prefix

an-
* not; used to make words that have a sense opposite to the word (or stem) to which the prefix is attached. Used with stems that begin with vowels and "h".
* Without, lacking.
    anoxia (without oxygen), anandrous (without male parts)

##### Synonyms

* (not): a-, dys-, i-/il-/im-/in-/ir-, mal-, non-, un-
* (without): ex-, -less, -free

##### Related terms

* a-

### See also

* anti-
* in-
* non-
* un-

### Anagrams

* n.a., NA, -na, N/A, N.A., n/a, Na, na

## Aromanian
### Prefix

an-
* Alternative form of ãn-

## Classical Nahuatl
### Alternative forms

* am- (when followed by a vowel or a consonant which is labial)

### Prefix

an-
* Subject prefix for verbs; it indicates that the subject is second-person plural; you, you all.

## Cornish
### Prefix

an-
* un-, non-

#### Derived terms
### References

* Akademi Kernewek Gerlyver Kernewek (FSS) Cornish Dictionary (SWF) (in Cornish), 2018, published 2018, page 11

## Dutch
### Etymology

From Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-) (ἀν- (an-) immediately preceding a vowel).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ɑn/
* Audio:(file)

### Prefix

an-
* an-: Not, without, opposite of

#### Derived terms
## French
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /an‿/

### Prefix

an-
* in-, an-. Alternative form of a- before a vowel or h

#### Derived terms
## German
### Etymology 1

From the preposition an, from Middle High German an(e), from Proto-West Germanic *ana, from Proto-Germanic *ana. Compare Dutch aan-, English on-.

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: /an/, [ʔan]
** Audio:(file)
** Homophone: an
* IPA: /aːn/ (still sometimes Austria, Switzerland; in Germany now highly archaic)

#### Prefix

an- (seperable verb prefix)
* onto, at, towards (the object)
    ‎an- + ‎schrauben (“to screw”) → ‎anschrauben (“to screw on, attach by screwing”)
    ‎an- + ‎schreien (“to shout”) → ‎anschreien (“to shout at”)
    ‎an- + ‎bauen (“to build”) → ‎anbauen (“to attach, expand, build next to”)
* near, over, towards (the subject)
    Synonyms: her-, herbei-
    Antonyms: ab-, weg-, fort-
    ‎an- + ‎ziehen (“to pull”) → ‎anziehen (“to attract, pull towards one”)
    ‎an- + ‎kaufen (“to buy”) → ‎ankaufen (“to buy so as to form a stock, buy up”)
* expresses a beginning, partial or slight action
    Antonyms: durch-, fertig-, weg-
    ‎an- + ‎knabbern (“to nibble”) → ‎anknabbern (“to nibble part of, start to nibble”)
    ‎an- + ‎braten (“to fry”) → ‎anbraten (“to sear, fry outwardly or slightly”)
    ‎an- + ‎zahlen (“to pay”) → ‎anzahlen (“to pay down, pay part of”)
* on, in use
    Antonym: aus-
    ‎an- + ‎stellen (“to put”) → ‎anstellen (“to turn on”)

##### Usage notes

* Also occurs in many nouns, but these are generally deverbal.

##### Derived terms
### Etymology 2

From Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-) (ἀν- (an-) immediately preceding a vowel), from Proto-Indo-European *n̥- (“un-, not”), zero-grade form of *ne (“not”).

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: /an/, [ʔan]

#### Prefix

an-
* forming words with the sense of negation, an-

## Ido
### Etymology

From an (“at, on”).

### Prefix

an-
* at, on

#### Derived terms
## Irish
### Etymology 1

From Old Irish an-, from Proto-Celtic *an-, from Proto-Indo-European *n̥-.

#### Alternative forms

* ana- (form used before consonants in Munster)

#### Pronunciation

* (Munster) IPA: /ˈɑn̪ˠ/
* (Aran) IPA: /ˈɑːn/
* (Connemara, Ulster) IPA: /ˈan̪ˠ/

#### Prefix

an-
* (with adjectives, always spelled with a hyphen) very
    Synonyms: fíor-, rí-
* (with adjectives) over-, excessively, intensely
* (with nouns) great, excessive

##### Usage notes

* Triggers lenition (except of d, s, and t):
   * ‎an- + ‎beag → ‎an-bheag (“very small”)
   * ‎an- + ‎deas → ‎an-deas (“very nice”)
* In some dialects (e.g. Aran), it also changes s to ts:
   * ‎an- + ‎saor → ‎an-tsaor (“very cheap”) (standard form an-saor)
* In Munster, this form is used only before a vowel; before a consonant the variant ana- is used.

##### Derived terms
### Etymology 2

From Old Irish an-, in-, from Proto-Celtic *an-, from Proto-Indo-European *n̥-.

#### Alternative forms

* ain- (used before slender vowels and consonants)

#### Pronunciation

* (Munster) IPA: /ˈɑn̪ˠ/
* (Aran) IPA: /ˈɑn/
* (Connemara, Ulster) IPA: /ˈan̪ˠ/

#### Prefix

an- (usually spelled without a hyphen)
* in-, un-, not
* bad, unnatural

##### Derived terms
### Etymology 3

From Ancient Greek ἀν- (an-).

#### Prefix

an-
* an- (not)

##### Derived terms
### Mutation

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Modern Irish. All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

### Further reading

* Dinneen, Patrick S. (1904) “an-”, in Foclóir Gaeḋilge agus Béarla, 1st edition, Dublin: Irish Texts Society, page 27
* Dinneen, Patrick S. (1904) “an”, in Foclóir Gaeḋilge agus Béarla, 1st edition, Dublin: Irish Texts Society, page 27
* Finck, F. N. (1899) Die araner mundart [The Aran Dialect] (in German), volume II, Marburg: Elwert’sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, page 16
* Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “an-”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN

## Italian
### Prefix

an-
* Alternative form of a- indicating lack or loss

#### Derived terms
## Luxembourgish
### Etymology

From the preposition an, from Proto-Germanic *in. Compare German ein-, English in-.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /an/, [ɑn]

### Prefix

an-
* in- (indicates physical or metaphorical motion into something)

#### Usage notes

* When attached to a verb stem beginning with a consonant sound other than /d/, /h/, /n/, /t/ or /t͡s/, the prefix becomes a- as a result of the Eifeler Regel.

#### Antonyms

* aus-

#### Derived terms
## Malagasy
### Prefix

an-
* prefix element of an- -ana

#### See also

* i-

## Middle English
### Prefix

an-
* Alternative form of en-

## Middle Welsh
### Etymology

From Proto-Brythonic *an-, from Proto-Celtic *an-, from Proto-Indo-European *n̥-.

### Prefix

an-
* un-, not

#### Descendants

* Welsh: an-, af-

## Old English
### Alternative forms

* ǣn-

### Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *aina-, from Proto-Germanic *aina- (“one, uni-”), equivalent to Old English ān (“one”).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ɑːn/

### Prefix

ān-
* one; mono-, uni-
    ān- + -hende (“handed”) → ānhende (“one-handed”)
    ān- + horn (“horn”) → ānhorn (“unicorn”)
    ān- + -īeġe (“-eyed”) → ānīeġe (“one-eyed”)
    ān- + -mōd (“-minded”) → ānmōd (“unanimous”)
    ān- + -nes (“-ness”) → ānnes (“unity”)
    ān- + wīġ (“battle”) → ānwīġ (“duel”)
    ān- + -wille (“-willed”) → ānwille (“stubborn”)
    ān- + -wintre (“years old”) → ānwintre (“one year old”)
* lone, alone
    ān- + *genġa (“walker”) → āngenġa (“loner”)
    ān- + *setla (“settler”) → ānsetla (“hermit”)

#### Related terms

* nān-

## Old French
### Prefix

an-
* Alternative form of en-

#### Usage notes

* Particularly common in the works of Chrétien de Troyes.

## Old Irish
### Etymology 1

From Proto-Celtic *an-, from Proto-Indo-European *n̥-.

#### Alternative forms

* am-, é-, in-

#### Prefix

an-
* un-, not
* bad

##### Descendants

* Irish: an-
* Scottish Gaelic: an-

### Etymology 2

Uncertain. Maybe related to Welsh en- and Gaulish ande- in proper names Andecarus (literally “very dear”) and Anderoudus (literally “very red”). Considered the same word as an- (“un-”) by DIL (see Further reading).

#### Prefix

an-
* very

##### Descendants

* Irish: an-
* Scottish Gaelic: an-

### Etymology 3

From Proto-Celtic *sani (“apart”), from Proto-Indo-European *sn̥Hi, whence also Latin sine (“without”).

#### Prefix

an-
* denoting a movement away from some reference point, used to form adverbs of place, for example anúas (“from above”)

##### Derived terms

* anair (“from the front”)
* anall (“from beyond”)
* andess (“from the right”)
* anechtar (“from outside”)
* aníar (“from the back”)
* aníos (“from below”)
* antúaid (“from the left”)
* can (“from where?”)
* dano (“then”)

##### Related terms

* s-
* t-

##### Descendants

* Irish: an-
* Scottish Gaelic: an-

### References

* ↑ Vendryes, Joseph (1959) “an-, particule intensive”, in Lexique Étymologique de l'Irlandais Ancien [Etymological lexicon of Old Irish] (in French), volume A, Dublin, Paris: Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, Centre national de la recherche scientifique, page A-70
* ↑ Hamp, Eric (1982) “Ad ZCP 37, 170-73”, in Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie, volume 39, number 1, →DOI, →ISSN, page 219
* ↑ Hamp, Eric (1986) “Varia II”, in Ériu, volume 37, Royal Irish Academy, →ISSN, →JSTOR, pages 183–184
* ↑ Schumacher, Stefan (2022) “The Development of Proto-Celtic *au in British Celtic”, in Simon Rodway, Jenny Rowland, and Erich Poppe, editors, Celts, Gaels, and Britons: Studies in Language and Literature from Antiquity to the Middle Ages in Honour of Patrick Sims-Williams (Medieval Texts and Cultures of Northern Europe), Turnhout, Belgium: Brepols, →ISBN

### Further reading

* Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “an-”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
* (Negative prefix:) Thurneysen, Rudolf (1940) D. A. Binchy and Osborn Bergin, transl., A Grammar of Old Irish, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, →ISBN, § 869-72, pages 542-44; reprinted 2017
* (Adverbs of place:) Thurneysen, Rudolf (1940) D. A. Binchy and Osborn Bergin, transl., A Grammar of Old Irish, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, →ISBN, § 483, page 305; reprinted 2017

## Pali
### Alternative forms

* 𑀅𑀦𑁆- (Brahmi script)
* अन्- (Devanagari script)
* অন্- (Bengali script)
* අන්- (Sinhalese script)
* အန်- or ဢၼ်- (Burmese script)
* อนฺ- or อัน- (Thai script)
* ᩋᨶ᩺- (Tai Tham script)
* ອນ຺- or ອັນ- (Lao script)
* អន៑- (Khmer script)
* 𑄃𑄚𑄴- (Chakma script)

### Prefix

an-
* Alternative form of a- used before words beginning with vowels

#### References

* Pali Text Society (1921–1925) “an-”, in Pali-English Dictionary‎, London: Chipstead

## Pipil
### Pronunciation

* (Standard) IPA: /an/

### Prefix

an-
* (personal) you, second-person plural subject marker.
    Antekitit tik ne mil?Do you work at the cornfield?

#### Usage notes

* Before a vowel, an- changes to anh-. The digraph ⟨nh⟩ is pronounced as [ŋ]. Example:
       Anhajsiket peyna.You came early.

#### See also

* anmejemet (personal pronoun)
* metzin- (object marker)
* -t (plural verb suffix)

## Polish
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /an/
* Audio:(file)
* Rhymes: -an
* Syllabification: [please specify syllabification manually]

### Prefix

an-
* Alternative form of a-

#### Derived terms
### Further reading

* an- in Polish dictionaries at PWN

## Saterland Frisian
### Etymology

From Old Frisian an-, from Proto-West Germanic *ana-. Cognates include West Frisian oan- and German an-.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /an-/

### Prefix

an-
* Combining form of an

#### Derived terms
## Scottish Gaelic
### Alternative forms

* ana-, ain-

### Etymology

From Old Irish an-.

### Prefix

an-
* un-, anti-
* bad, unnatural

#### Derived terms

* an-fhoiseil

#### Related terms

* ao-
* do-
* eu-
* mì-
* neo-

### Prefix

an-
* Used to emphasise the root.

#### Derived terms

* an-mhòr

## Spanish
### Prefix

an-
* an-

#### Derived terms
### Further reading

* “a-”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10

## Swedish
### Etymology

From the Old Swedish and- meaning “against/towards”.

### Prefix

an-
* against, towards

#### Derived terms
### Anagrams

* -na, na

## Welsh
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /an/

### Etymology 1

From Middle Welsh an-, from Proto-Brythonic *an-, from Proto-Celtic *an-, from Proto-Indo-European *n̥-. Cognate with Cornish an-.

#### Prefix

an-
* not, un-, non-, an-, dis-, negative prefix
    Synonym: (used before gl, ll, rh, and consonantal i) af-
    ‎an- + ‎parch (“respect”) → ‎amarch (“disrespect”)
    ‎an- + ‎prisiadwy (“valuable”) → ‎amhrisiadwy (“invaluable”)
    ‎an- + ‎teg (“fair”) → ‎annheg (“unfair”)
    ‎an- + ‎cofio (“to remember”) → ‎anghofio (“to forget”)
    ‎an- + ‎diwedd (“end”) → ‎anniwedd (“endless”)
    ‎an- + ‎gwybod (“to know”) → ‎anwybod (“ignorance”)
    ‎an- + ‎mantais (“advantage”) → ‎anfantais (“disadvantage”)

##### Usage notes

Triggers the nasal mutation of p, t, c and d, sometimes with accompanying euphonic or orthographic adjustments, and the soft mutation of b, g and m.

### Etymology 2

From Proto-Celtic *ande-, *ando- (“inside”).

#### Prefix

an- (not productive)
* intensive prefix
* in-, inside, inward

##### Derived terms
### Mutation

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Welsh. All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

### Further reading

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

### References

* ↑ Morris Jones, John (1913) A Welsh Grammar, Historical and Comparative, Oxford: Clarendon Press, § 156 i 5

## Ye'kwana
### Pronunciation

* IPA: [aŋ-]

### Prefix

an-
* allomorph of ön- (negative/sociative irrealis prefix) used for stems that begin with a or e