English Dictionary: an | by the DICT Development Group |
4 results for an | |
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]: | |
| |
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: | |
An \An\, conj. [Shortened fr. and, OE. an., and, sometimes and if, in introducing conditional clauses, like Icel. enda if, the same word as and. Prob. and was originally pleonastic before the conditional clause.] If; -- a word used by old English authors. --Shak. Nay, an thou dalliest, then I am thy foe. --B. Jonson. {An if}, and if; if. | |
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: | |
An \An\ ([acr]n). [AS. [be]n one, the same word as the numeral. See {One}, and cf. {A}.] This word is properly an adjective, but is commonly called the indefinite article. It is used before nouns of the singular number only, and signifies one, or any, but somewhat less emphatically. In such expressions as [bd]twice an hour,[b8] [bd]once an age,[b8] a shilling an ounce (see 2d {A}, 2), it has a distributive force, and is equivalent to each, every. Note: An is used before a word beginning with a vowel sound; as, an enemy, an hour. It in also often used before h sounded, when the accent of the word falls on the second syllable; as, an historian, an hyena, an heroic deed. Many writers use a before h in such positions. Anciently an was used before consonants as well as vowels. | |
From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (15Feb98) [foldoc]: | |
an (Dutch Antilles). (1999-01-27) |