-an


-an 1

suff.1. Of, relating to, or resembling: brachyuran.2. One relating to, belonging to, or resembling: librarian.
[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin -ānus, adj. and n. suff.]

-an 2

suff.1. Unsaturated carbon compound: furan.2. Anhydride of a carbohydrate: dextran.
[Alteration of -ane.]

-an

,

-ean

or

-ian

suffix1. (forming adjectives and nouns) belonging to or relating to; a person belonging to or coming from: European. 2. (forming adjectives and nouns) typical of or resembling; a person typical of: Elizabethan. 3. (forming adjectives and nouns) adhering to or following; an adherent of: Christian. 4. (forming nouns) a person who specializes or is expert in: dietitian; phonetician. [from Latin -ānus, suffix of adjectives]

an1

(ən; when stressed æn)

indefinite article. the form of a 1 before an initial vowel sound(an arch; an honor) and sometimes, esp. in British English, before an initial unstressed syllable beginning with a silent or weakly pronounced h: an historian. [before 950; Middle English; Old English ān one] usage: See a1.

an3

(ən; when stressed æn)
prep. the form of a2 before an initial vowel sound: 14 dollars an ounce; 55 miles an hour.usage: See per.

an2

or an'

(ən; when stressed æn)

'n, 'n',


conj. 1. Pron. Spelling. and. 2. Archaic. if. [1125–75; Middle English, unstressed phonetic variant of and]

an-1

, a prefix occurring orig. in loanwords from Greek, with the meanings “not,” “without,” “lacking” ( anaerobic; anhydrous; anonymous); regularly attached to words or stems beginning with a vowel or h.Compare a-6. [< Greek]

an-2

, var. of ad- before n: announce.

an-3

, var. of ana- before a vowel: anion.

-an1

, a suffix with the general sense “of, pertaining to, having qualities of,” occurring orig. in adjectives borrowed from Latin and formed from nouns denoting places ( Roman; urban) or persons ( Augustan), now commonly forming adjectives and nouns denoting affiliation with a place or membership in a group (Chicagoan; crustacean; Episcopalian); attached to personal names, it may additionally mean “contemporary with” (Elizabethan) or “proponent of” (Freudian). The suffix -an1 also occurs in personal nouns denoting one who engages in, practices, or works with the referent of the base word (comedian; electrician; historian). See -ian for relative distribution with that suffix. Compare -arian, -ician. [Middle English < Latin -ānus; or replacing -ain, -en < Old French < Latin]

-an2

, a suffix used in the names of organic chemical compounds, esp. polysaccharides: pentosan; xanthan.[of uncertain orig.]

An

Chem. Symbol. actinon.

an.

in the year. [< Latin annō]