on-prefix

Etymology: Originally cognate with or formed similarly to Old Frisian on- , Old Dutch ana- , an- (Middle Dutch ane- , aen- , Dutch aan- ), Old Saxon ana- , an- (Middle Low German an- , āne- ), Old High German ana- , an- (Middle High German ane- , German an- ), Old Icelandic á- , Old Swedish aa- , a- (Swedish å- ), Danish å- , †aa- , Gothic ana- < the same Germanic base as on prep. In later use partly < on adv. and partly < on prep. Compare an- prefix¹.Use of a prefix cognate with on prep. is also found in other Germanic languages at an early stage. Some of the formations in these languages parallel attested English formations. In a few instances, e.g. angin n., onsene n., the Germanic parallels are almost certainly true cognates, going back to a common ancestral form; in other cases, e.g. onfall n., onrise v., onseek v., etc. the possibility of independent parallel formations also needs to be considered. Many new formations are found from the Old English period onwards. Compare also ancient Greek ἀνα- ana- prefix, use as prefix of ἀνά , preposition (see on prep.). In Old English the form an- occurs relatively more frequently in stressed position, e.g. in nouns, as angin n., onsene n., anvil n. (compare discussion at and- prefix). However, a suggestion ( N.E.D. (1884) at an- prefix) that this reflects the partial blocking of rounding of the vowel before a nasal in stressed position is not supported by more recent authorities (compare e.g. A. Campbell Old Eng. Gram. (1959) §73 note 1, R. M. Hogg Gram. Old Eng. (1992) I. §2.88). In Old English (and early Middle English) sometimes substituted for in- prefix¹, originally and especially in West Saxon, apparently under the influence of the extension of sense of on prep. in this dialect (see discussion at on prep. and also at in- prefix¹). In Old and Middle English sometimes difficult to distinguish from and- prefix (compare β. forms at and- prefix and see discussion at that entry).