An (noun) Definition, Meaning & Examples

indefinite article
  1. the form of a before an initial vowel sound (an arch; an honor) and sometimes, especially in British English, before an initial unstressed syllable beginning with a silent or weakly pronounced h: an historian.
conjunction
  1. and.
  2. if.
noun
  1. the Sumerian god of heaven: the counterpart of the Akkadian Anu.
Symbol, Chemistry.
  1. actinon.
abbreviation
  1. Anglo-Norman.
  1. a prefix occurring before stems beginning with a vowel or h in loanwords from Greek, where it means “not,” “without,” “lacking” (anarchy; anecdote); used in the formation of compound words: anelectric.
  1. variant of ad- before n: announce.
  1. variant of ana- before a vowel: anion.
  1. a suffix occurring originally in adjectives borrowed from Latin, formed from nouns denoting places (Roman; urban) or persons (Augustan), and now productively forming English adjectives by extension of the Latin pattern. Attached to geographic names, it denotes provenance or membership (American; Chicagoan; Tibetan), the latter sense now extended to membership in social classes, religious denominations, etc., in adjectives formed from various kinds of noun bases (Episcopalian; pedestrian; Puritan; Republican) and membership in zoological taxa (acanthocephalan; crustacean). Attached to personal names, it has the additional senses “contemporary with” (Elizabethan; Jacobean) or “proponent of” (Hegelian; Freudian) the person specified by the noun base. The suffix -an, and its variant -ian also occurs in a set of personal nouns, mainly loanwords from French, denoting one who engages in, practices, or works with the referent of the base noun (comedian; grammarian; historian; theologian); this usage is especially productive with nouns ending in -ic (electrician; logician; technician). See -ian for relative distribution with that suffix.
abbreviation
  1. in the year.
abbreviation
  1. Anglo-Norman.
  2. Associate in Nursing.
determiner
  1. a form of the indefinite article used before an initial vowel sound
conjunction
  1. (subordinating) an obsolete or dialect word for if See and (def. 9)
the internet domain name for
  1. Netherlands Antilles
noun
  1. the Sumerian sky god
the chemical symbol for
  1. actinon
abbreviation for
  1. Anglo-Norman
prefix
  1. not; without
suffix
  1. belonging to or relating to; a person belonging to or coming from
  2. typical of or resembling; a person typical of
  3. adhering to or following; an adherent of
  4. a person who specializes or is expert in
An (noun) Definition, Meaning & Examples

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