an-(word root) not, withoutExamples of words with the root an-: anhydrousAbused, Confused, & Misused Words by Mary Embree Copyright © 2007, 2013 by Mary EmbreeANabbr. airman, Navyan 1 (?n; ?n when stressed)indef.art. The form of a used before words beginning with a vowel sound: an elephant; an hour; an umbrella. See Usage Notes at a2, every.[Middle English, from Old English ?n, one; see oi-no- in Indo-European roots.]Word History: The forms of the indefinite article are good examples of what can happen to a word when it becomes habitually pronounced without stress. An is in fact a weakened form of one; both an and one come from Old English ?n, “one.” In early Middle English, besides representing the cardinal numeral “one,” ?n developed the special function of indefinite article, and in this role the word was ordinarily pronounced with very little or no stress. Sound changes that affected unstressed syllables elsewhere in the language affected it also. First, the vowel was shortened and eventually reduced to a schwa (?). Second, the n was lost before consonants. This loss of n affected some other words as well; it explains why English has both my and mine, thy and thine. Originally these were doublets just like a and an, with mine and thine occurring only before vowels, as in Ben Jonson’s famous line “Drink to me only with thine eyes.” By the time of Modern English, though, my and thy had replaced mine and thine when used before nouns (that is, when not used predicatively, as in This book is mine), just as some varieties of Modern English use a even before vowels (a apple).an 2 also an’ (?n, ?n when stressed)conj. Archaic And if; if: “an it please your majesty / To hunt the panther and the hart with me” (Shakespeare).[Middle English, short for and, and, from Old English; see and.]American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.an (æn; unstressed ?n) determinera form of the indefinite article used before an initial vowel sound: an old car; an elf; an honour. [Old English ?n one]Usage: An was formerly often used before words that begin with h and are unstressed on the first syllable: an hotel; an historic meeting. Sometimes the initial h was not pronounced. This usage is now becoming obsoletean (æn; unstressed ?n) or an’conj (subordinating) an obsolete or dialect word for if See and9an the internet domain name for (Computer Science) Netherlands Antilles An (??n) n (Non-European Myth & Legend) myth the Sumerian sky god. Babylonian counterpart: Anu An the chemical symbol for (Chemistry) actinon AN abbreviation for 1. (Languages) Anglo-Norman 2. (Peoples) Anglo-Norman Collins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014an1 (?n; when stressed æn) indefinite article. the form of a 1 before an initial vowel sound(an arch; an honor) and sometimes, esp. in British English, before an initial unstressed syllable beginning with a silent or weakly pronounced h: an historian. [before 950; Middle English; Old English ?n one] usage: See a1. an3 (?n; when stressed æn) prep. the form of a2 before an initial vowel sound: 14 dollars an ounce; 55 miles an hour.usage: See per.an2 or an’ (?n; when stressed æn) ‘n, ‘n’, conj. 1. Pron. Spelling. and. 2. Archaic. if. [1125?75; Middle English, unstressed phonetic variant of and] an-1 , a prefix occurring orig. in loanwords from Greek, with the meanings ?not,? ?without,? ?lacking? ( anaerobic; anhydrous; anonymous); regularly attached to words or stems beginning with a vowel or h.Compare a-6. [You usually use a and an when it is not clear or important which specific thing or person you are referring to. You only use a and an with singular countable nouns. When you are talking about a specific person or thing, you usually use the.You can describe someone or something using a or an with an adjective and a noun, or with a noun followed by more information.Be Careful!Don’t omit a or an in front of a noun when the noun refers to someone’s profession or job. For example, you say ‘He is an architect’. Don’t say ‘He is architect’.You use a in front of words beginning with consonant sounds and an in front of words beginning with vowel sounds.You use an in front of words beginning with ‘h’ when the ‘h’ is not pronounced. For example, you say ‘an honest man’. Don’t say ‘a honest man’.An is used in front of the following words beginning with ‘h’:You use a in front of words beginning with ‘u’ when the ‘u’ is pronounced /ju?/ (like ‘you’). For example, you say ‘a unique occasion’. Don’t say ‘an unique occasion’.A is used in front of the following words:You use an in front of an abbreviation when the letters are pronounced separately and the first letter begins with a vowel sound.A and an are used to mean ‘one’ in front of some numbers and units of measurement.