Standard Lemma guide

an

article · conj · name · noun · num · prep · 17 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ˈæn/ stressed form
  • Australian, Received-Pronunciation: [ˈæn]
  • UK, stressed: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • British, Southern, Standard: [ˈan]
  • US: [ˈeən]
  • US: [ˈɛən]
  • US, stressed, æ-tensing: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Canada: [ˈɛən]
  • Canada: [ˈæ(ː)n]
  • unstressed: /ən/
  • UK, unstressed: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • US, unstressed: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -æn
  • homophone: and (unstressed form)
  • homophone: in (unstressed form)
  • CMU ARPABET: AE1 N Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
  • CMU ARPABET 2: AH0 N Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

article

Meaning 1

Form of a (all article senses).

Used before a vowel sound.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: indefinite

Examples

  • I'll be there in half an hour.
  • 'E's staying at an 'otel. (compare He's staying at a hotel.)

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

article

Meaning 2

Form of a (all article senses).

Used before /h/ in a stressed or unstressed syllable.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: indefinite

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

article

Meaning 3

Form of a (all article senses).

Used before one and words with initial ⟨u⟩, ⟨eu⟩ when pronounced /ju/.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: indefinite, rare

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

article

Meaning 4

Form of a (all article senses).

Used before all consonants.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: UK, West-Country, indefinite, nonstandard

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

conj

Meaning 5

If

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: archaic

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

conj

Meaning 6

So long as.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: archaic

Examples

  • An it harm none, do what ye will.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

7

conj

Meaning 7

As if; as though.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: archaic

Examples

  • At length did cross an Albatross, Thorough the Fog it came; And an it were a Christian Soul, We hail'd it in God's Name.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

8

name

Meaning 8

Initialism of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands: a union territory of India.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: abbreviation, alt-of, initialism

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

9

name

Meaning 9

Alternative form of Anu.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: alt-of, alternative

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

10

noun

Meaning 10

The first letter of the Georgian alphabet, ა (Mkhedruli), Ⴀ (Asomtavruli) or ⴀ (Nuskhuri).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

11

noun

Meaning 11

A set of sizes for screw threads agreed upon and jointly used by the United States Army and Navy.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: US, uncountable

Topics: government, military, politics, war

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

12

noun

Meaning 12

Initialism of author's note or authors' note.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: abbreviation, alt-of, initialism

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

13

noun

Meaning 13

Initialism of antinatalism.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: abbreviation, alt-of, initialism, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

14

noun

Meaning 14

Initialism of antinatalist.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: abbreviation, alt-of, initialism

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

15

num

Meaning 15

one

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: UK, West-Country, nonstandard

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

16

prep

Meaning 16

In each; to or for each; per.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • I was only going twenty miles an hour.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

17

noun

Meaning 17

an associate degree in nursing

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: Associate in Nursing

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: associate degree, associate

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ís? Proto-Indo-European *h1óynos Proto-Germanic *ainaz Proto-West Germanic *ain Old English ān Middle English an English an From Middle English an, from Old English ān (“a, an”, literally “one”). More at one.

From Middle English an (“and, if”). Doublet of and.

Abbreviations.

Borrowed from Georgian ან (an).

Derived from the first letters of army and navy.

From the Old English an, on (preposition).

Across languages

Translations

156 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Afar: hal — indefinite article
  • Afrikaans: 'n — indefinite article
  • Albanian: një — indefinite article
  • Aragonese: un — indefinite article
  • Aragonese: una — indefinite article
  • Armenian: մը (mə) — indefinite article
  • Armenian: մըն (mən) — indefinite article
  • Asturian: un — indefinite article
  • Asturian: una — indefinite article
  • Bakhtiari: یه (ya) — indefinite article
  • Bakhtiari: یه -ی — indefinite article
  • Bashkir: often not used — indefinite article
  • Bashkir: бер (ber) — indefinite article
  • Basque: bat — indefinite article
  • Belizean Creole: wahn — indefinite article
  • Belizean Creole: ahn — indefinite article
  • Breton: un — indefinite article
  • Breton: ul — indefinite article
  • Breton: ur — indefinite article
  • Catalan: un — indefinite article
  • Catalan: una — indefinite article
  • Danish: en — indefinite article
  • Danish: et — indefinite article
  • Dutch: een — indefinite article
  • Faroese: ein — indefinite article
  • Faroese: eitt — indefinite article
  • Fijian: e dua na — indefinite article
  • French: un — indefinite article
  • French: une — indefinite article
  • West-Frisian: in — indefinite article
  • Friulian: un — indefinite article
  • Friulian: une — indefinite article
  • Galician: un — indefinite article
  • Galician: unha — indefinite article
  • Georgian: ერთ-ერთი (ert-erti) — indefinite article
  • German: ein — indefinite article
  • German: eine — indefinite article
  • German: en — indefinite article
  • German: e — indefinite article
  • German: es — indefinite article
  • East Central German: aa — indefinite article
  • Greek: ένας (énas) — indefinite article
  • Greek: μια (mia) — indefinite article
  • Haitian Creole: yon — indefinite article
  • Hawaiian: he — indefinite article
  • Hebrew: אחד (ekhád) — indefinite article
  • Hindi: एक (ek) — indefinite article
  • Huave: nop — indefinite article
  • Hungarian: egy — indefinite article
  • Indonesian: sebuah — indefinite article
  • Indonesian: seorang — indefinite article
  • Interlingua: un — indefinite article
  • Istriot: oûn — indefinite article
  • Istriot: oûna — indefinite article
  • Italian: un — indefinite article
  • Italian: uno — indefinite article
  • Italian: una — indefinite article
  • Italian: un' — indefinite article
  • Kannada: ಒಂದು (ondu) — indefinite article
  • Northern Kurdish: yek — indefinite article
  • Northern Kurdish: -ek — indefinite article
  • Northern Kurdish: -yek — indefinite article
  • Latin: unus — indefinite article
  • Ligurian: un — indefinite article
  • Ligurian: 'n — indefinite article
  • Ligurian: ùnn-a — indefinite article
  • Ligurian: 'na — indefinite article
  • Limburgish: 'n — indefinite article
  • Limburgish: ene — indefinite article
  • Limburgish: e — indefinite article
  • Louisiana Creole: un — indefinite article
  • Louisiana Creole: in — indefinite article
  • Louisiana Creole: unn — indefinite article
  • Louisiana Creole: ènn — indefinite article
  • Low German: een — indefinite article
  • Low German: en — indefinite article
  • Low German: ein — indefinite article
  • Luxembourgish: eng — indefinite article
  • Māori: he — indefinite article
  • Middle English: a — indefinite article
  • Middle English: an — indefinite article
  • Mirandese: un — indefinite article
  • Mirandese: ũa — indefinite article
  • Mòcheno: a m and f and — indefinite article
  • Mòcheno: an — indefinite article
  • Norwegian Bokmål: en — indefinite article
  • Norwegian Bokmål: ei — indefinite article
  • Norwegian Bokmål: et — indefinite article
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: ein — indefinite article
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: ei — indefinite article
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: eit — indefinite article
  • Occitan: un — indefinite article
  • Occitan: una — indefinite article
  • Occitan: ua — indefinite article
  • O'odham: g — indefinite article
  • Pennsylvania German: en — indefinite article
  • Dari: یک (yak) — indefinite article
  • Dari: ـی (-ē) — indefinite article
  • Dari: یه (ya) — indefinite article
  • Iranian Persian: یک (yek) — indefinite article
  • Iranian Persian: -ی — indefinite article
  • Iranian Persian: یک -ی (yek -i) — indefinite article
  • Iranian Persian: یه (ye) — indefinite article
  • Iranian Persian: یه -ی — indefinite article
  • Portuguese: um — indefinite article
  • Portuguese: uma — indefinite article
  • Romani: jekh — indefinite article
  • Romanian: un — indefinite article
  • Romanian: o — indefinite article
  • Spanish: un — indefinite article
  • Spanish: una — indefinite article
  • Swedish: en — indefinite article
  • Swedish: ett — indefinite article
  • Tagalog: isang — indefinite article
  • Tamil: ஒரு (oru) — indefinite article
  • Tamil: ஒன்று (oṉṟu) — indefinite article
  • Telugu: ఒక (oka) — indefinite article
  • Thai: หนึ่ง (nʉ̀ng) — indefinite article
  • Tok Pisin: wanpela — indefinite article
  • Turkish: bir — indefinite article
  • Turkish: bi' — indefinite article
  • Turkish: bi — indefinite article
  • Tz'utujil: jun — indefinite article
  • Volapük: un — indefinite article
  • Volapük: hiun — indefinite article
  • Volapük: jiun — indefinite article
  • Walloon: on — indefinite article
  • Walloon: ene — indefinite article
  • Walloon: èn — indefinite article
  • Wolof: ab — indefinite article
  • Yiddish: אַ (a) — indefinite article
  • Yiddish: אַן (an) — indefinite article
  • Esperanto: se — if; so long as
  • Fijian: e dua na — if; so long as
  • Finnish: mikäli — if; so long as
  • German: so — if; so long as
  • Italian: se — if; so long as
  • Latin: si — if; so long as
  • Danish: pr. — in each; to or for each; per
  • Danish: om — in each; to or for each; per
  • German: pro — in each; to or for each; per
  • German: den — in each; to or for each; per
  • German: das — in each; to or for each; per
  • German: die — in each; to or for each; per
  • Hungarian: per — in each; to or for each; per
  • Hungarian: -ként — in each; to or for each; per
  • Italian: al — in each; to or for each; per
  • Italian: allo — in each; to or for each; per
  • Italian: alla — in each; to or for each; per
  • Italian: all' — in each; to or for each; per
  • Macedonian: по (po) — in each; to or for each; per
  • Portuguese: o — in each; to or for each; per
  • Portuguese: a — in each; to or for each; per
  • Portuguese: por — in each; to or for each; per
  • Serbo-Croatian: по — in each; to or for each; per
  • Serbo-Croatian: po — in each; to or for each; per