an
- 1The form of the indefinite article a used before a word that begins with a vowel sound, as in an apple or an hour.
An old friend called last night to say she was moving back to town.
There's an Ethan Moore at the front desk asking for you.
UsageChoose by sound, not spelling: an hour, an honest man, but a university (not
incorrect: an university).Note
Behind the article stands a number: Old English ān already did the work of "a" while literally meaning "one", which makes it a close cousin of the word one.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- The article an descends from Old English ān, which meant one and also functioned as an indefinite article. en.wiktionary.org
- An and one share the same Old English ancestor. en.wiktionary.org
- 2In, to, or for each; used to state a rate, with the same meaning as per.
At the market, saffron was going for twelve dollars an ounce.
The old press printed about three thousand copies an hour.
UsageUsed in rates before a vowel sound: fifty miles an hour, twelve dollars an ounce. Per is more formal.
Similarper
Note
It looks like the article but is a different word, the Old English preposition an or on, and it lives in rates: twenty miles an hour, twelve dollars an ounce.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
- The rate preposition an has a distinct origin from the article, deriving from the Old English preposition an or on. en.wiktionary.org
- 3Used instead of a before an h at the start of an unstressed syllable, as in an historic, now old-fashioned. Formerly also before stressed h, one, or a you sound.
Voters knew they were taking part in an historic election.
The college appointed an historian of medieval Europe as its new dean.
UsageSome writers still put an before an unstressed h, an historic win, but a historic is the usual modern choice.
Note
Modern writers keep it for an h that opens an unstressed syllable, where the sound is light: an historic victory, in a 1953 English translation of Mao Tse-tung's tribute to Stalin. Older English went further and used it before a stressed h too: the King James Bible of 1611 has an horrible pit, and Robert Morden's Geography Rectified counts an hundred and ten.
Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 5 facts
- An English translation of Mao Tse-tung's tribute to Stalin appeared in 1953. en.wiktionary.org
- That translation contains the words “an historic victory”. en.wiktionary.org
- The King James Bible was first published in 1611. en.wikipedia.org
- Older English used “an” before stressed h; the King James Bible contains “an horrible pit” in Psalm 40:2. en.wikipedia.org
- Robert Morden's Geography Rectified contains “an hundred and ten”. archive.org
Less common meanings
- 4If, or so long as, introducing a condition.
Thereupon, quoth he, "O woman, for sundry days I have seen thee attend the levée sans a word said; so tell me an thou have any requirement I may grant."
1885, Richard F[rancis] Burton, transl. and editorNote
Behind the conditional lies the ordinary word and: Middle English an meant both "and" and "if", and the two words are doublets. Shakespeare uses it in The Merchant of Venice (an the worst fall that ever fell) and Richard Francis Burton, in Supplemental Nights (1886–1888), writes an thou have any requirement, with the verb in the old subjunctive.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 5 facts
- Conditional an derives from Middle English an, meaning both and and if, and is a doublet of and. en.wiktionary.org
- Shakespeare uses the quoted wording in The Merchant of Venice; Portia speaks it in Act I, scene ii. gutenberg.org
- The original Supplemental Nights volumes were published from 1886 to 1888. burtoniana.org
- The quoted phrase occurs in Richard Francis Burton’s translation, spoken by the Sultan to Alaeddin’s mother. gutenberg.org
- Have in thou have is the subjunctive form. en.wiktionary.org
- 5Used with the meaning of as if or as though, to say how someone or something seems or behaves.
Note
Comparisons are where it lives, and the clue is the were that follows, just as in the modern as if it were. When an albatross is hailed in God's name an it were a Christian soul, it is greeted as though it were one. That is how to tell it from the conditional an, which sets a condition rather than drawing a likeness.
Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 3 facts
- An has the historical comparative meaning ‘as if’ or ‘as though’. en.wiktionary.org
- The albatross passage uses ‘an it were a Christian Soul’ and describes the bird being hailed in God's name. en.wikisource.org
- Conditional an means ‘if’, distinguishing it from the comparative sense. en.wiktionary.org
- 6In the dialect of southwest England, used in place of a before a word beginning with a consonant.
- 7The cardinal number one, naming a single person or thing.
- 8The first letter of the Georgian alphabet, written ა in Mkhedruli, Ⴀ in Asomtavruli, and ⴀ in Nuskhuri.
Showing meanings only.
Practice
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Origins
Old English ān, which meant "a, an" and literally "one," became Middle English an.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- Old English ān meant “a, an” and literally “one.” en.wiktionary.org
- Middle English an developed from Old English ān. en.wiktionary.org
From Middle English an, meaning "and" or "if". It is a doublet of and: the two words share the same origin.
Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 2 facts
- The conjunction an comes from Middle English an, meaning "and" or "if". en.wiktionary.org
- The conjunction an is a doublet of and, sharing its origin. en.wiktionary.org
From the Old English preposition an, also found as on.
Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 2 facts
- The preposition an derives from the Old English preposition an. en.wiktionary.org
- The Old English preposition an also occurs as on. en.wiktionary.org