*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of an

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”, litera

4 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 4 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
article

Used before a vowel sound. · Used before /h/ in a stressed or unstressed syllable. · Used before one and words with initial ⟨u⟩, ⟨eu⟩ when pronounced /ju/. · Used before all consonants.

num

one

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

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.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Inherited-form mentionanenm
  • Inherited-form mentionanang
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:an<id:article>",
        "id": "article",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *ís?\nProto-Indo-European *h₁óynos\nProto-Germanic *ainaz\nProto-West Germanic *ain\nOld English ān\nMiddle English an\nEnglish an\n[Appendix:Glossary#inherited|Inherited]] from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*ainaz\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-West Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*ain\", \"lang\" : \"gmw-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Old English\", \"term\" : \"ān\", \"lang\" : \"ang\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Middle English\", \"term\" : \"an\", \"lang\" : \"enm\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"an\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-id=\"article\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"an\" id=\"English:_article\">"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "an"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English an"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "an",
        "4": "ān",
        "5": "a, an",
        "lit": "one"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English ān (“a, an”, literally “one”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:an<id:article>",
        "id": "article",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *ís?\nProto-Indo-European *h₁óynos\nProto-Germanic *ainaz\nProto-West Germanic *ain\nOld English ān\nMiddle English an\nEnglish an"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "*ís",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/ís"
    ],
    [
      "*h₁óynos",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₁óynos#Proto-Indo-European:_one"
    ],
    [
      "*ainaz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/ainaz#Proto-Germanic:_one"
    ],
    [
      "*ain",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/ain#Proto-West_Germanic:_one"
    ],
    [
      "ān",
      "an#Old_English:_one"
    ],
    [
      "an",
      "an#Middle_English:_article"
    ],
    [
      "an",
      "an#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "ān",
      "an#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "one",
      "one#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "article",
      "glosses": [
        "Used before a vowel sound.",
        "Used before /h/ in a stressed or unstressed syllable.",
        "Used before one and words with initial ⟨u⟩, ⟨eu⟩ when pronounced /ju/.",
        "Used before all consonants."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "indefinite",
        "rare",
        "UK",
        "West-Country",
        "nonstandard"
      ],
      "recordId": "980b94be0c3999555a3732e9c1cb37dc6c5443684248c770a7e515fc80a85f08",
      "rawRecordSha256": "af177e3797eee2ccff9d8ceaa70bfa0bf55fbb2f1c86a1597be0db5522782624",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 15627
    },
    {
      "pos": "num",
      "glosses": [
        "one"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "UK",
        "West-Country",
        "nonstandard"
      ],
      "recordId": "fa7968cb7b6ac862e6aed5abb5d5d4d2d7d025aa8305c339cd8cfd4e6d5d2703",
      "rawRecordSha256": "c1faf9aab61446349534ca6d3036d54d337d7c360ff2bba66c5c8c1c2fa66f92",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 15628
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
conj

If · So long as. · As if; as though.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

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

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Root classification mention*h₂en-ine-pro
  • Inherited-form mentionanenm · and, if
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "root",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*h₂en-"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "etymid",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "conj"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "an",
        "t": "and, if"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English an (“and, if”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "dbt",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "and"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of and"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "an",
      "an#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "and",
      "and#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "conj",
      "glosses": [
        "If",
        "So long as.",
        "As if; as though."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "archaic"
      ],
      "recordId": "51d81cd5049102d97b97b34f485638dcffe03feaae4d5fd504980e5113ca0b1a",
      "rawRecordSha256": "b3860883ae034ee36b67746eabeeca6ac9331d725dc8570d394185b646c516fa",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 15629
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
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}

Source etymology 3

Original entry ↗
noun

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

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Borrowed from Georgian ან (an).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ka",
        "3": "ან"
      },
      "expansion": "Georgian ან (an)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "ან",
      "ან#Georgian"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "The first letter of the Georgian alphabet, ა (Mkhedruli), Ⴀ (Asomtavruli) or ⴀ (Nuskhuri)."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "1e827f3c8b65d1667ff524e15a649dd5d004c0da16ee98b14d9dd68f0f227e35",
      "rawRecordSha256": "1e9dd101530c6cec675e60757bcdac766c27b489f71479636285be423e73a032",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 15630
    }
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  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
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  }
}

Source etymology 4

Original entry ↗
prep

In each; to or for each; per.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From the Old English an, on (preposition).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Inherited-form mentionanang
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "an"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English an"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "an",
      "an#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "on",
      "on#Old_English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "prep",
      "glosses": [
        "In each; to or for each; per."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "7cb6853678735bf9c5a9c8ca2d848706b1981e543bd2834b67b867ddc545391d",
      "rawRecordSha256": "7a6a5fa1d597de97ebfe4ae4252f8e147b1f8f5db6ad68ded65d8ee3e8580373",
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  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
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    "links": 0,
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  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for an →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-YW4