Sunning himself on the board steps, I saw for the first time Mr. Farquhar Fenelon Cooke. He was dressed out in broad gaiters and bright tweeds, likean English tourist, and his face might have belonged to Dagon, idol of the Philistines.
1 I waited patiently for the Lord, and he inclined vnto me, and heard my crie. 2 He brought me vp also out ofan horrible pit, out of the mirie clay, and set my feete vpon a rock, and established my goings.
1693,Robert Morden, “Of China”, inGeography Rectified; or a Description of the World[3], 3rd edition,→OCLC,page441:
The Province ofNanking, by theTartars calledKiangnan, is the ſecond in honour, in magnitude and fertility in allChina : It is divided into 14 great Territories, having Cities and Townsan hundred and ten;Nanking, orKiangning being theMetropolis; a City, that if ſhe did not exceed moſt Cities on the Earth in bigneſs and beauty, yet ſhe was inferior to few, for her Pagodes, her Temples, her Porcelane Towers, her Palaces and Triumphal Arches.Fungiang,Sucheu,Sunkiang,Leucheu,Hoaigan,Ganking,Ningue,Hoeicheu, are alſo eminent places, and of great Note and Trade.
Following the doctrine of Lenin and Stalin, relying on the support of the great Soviet state and all the revolutionary forces of all countries, the Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese people gainedan historic victory a few years ago.
1972 May 28, 3:30 from the start, inPresident Nixon addresses the Soviet People live from the Kremlin[5], spoken byRichard Nixon, archived fromthe original on22 December 2015:
We have agreed on joint ventures in space. We have agreed on ways of working together to protect the environment, to advance health, to cooperate in science and technology. We have agreed on means of preventing incidents at sea. We have established a commission to expand trade between our two nations. Most important, we have takenan historic first step in the limitation of nuclear strategic arms.
2022 June 29,David Pakman, 0:00 from the start, inTrump Assaulted Secret Service Agent, Smeared Ketchup on Wall[6], archived fromthe original on30 June 2022:
Well yesterday wasan historic day. Uh, there was last minute testimony scheduled in the January 6th committee from a former aide to Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows.
2025 May 26,Mark Carney, 0:21 from the start, inKing Charles in Canada: Why this isn't just any royal visit[7],CBC:
This isan historic honor which matches the weight of our times.
For more quotations using this term, seeCitations:an.
(now quite rare)Used beforeone and words with initial⟨u⟩,⟨eu⟩ when pronounced/ju/.
God brought him forth out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength ofan unicorn: he shall eat up the nations his enemies, and shall break their bones, and pierce them through with his arrows.
My hopes, from my earliest years, have been hopes of celebrity as a writer- not of wealth, or of influence, or of accomplishing any of the thousand aims which furnish the great bulk of mankind with motives. You will laugh at me. There is something so emphatically shadowy and unreal in the object of this ambition, that even the full attainment of its provokes a smile. For who does not know 'How vain that second life in others' breath, The estate which wits inherit after death!' And what can be more fraught with the ludicrous thanan union of this shadowy ambition withmediocre parts and attainments! But I digress.
2010 March 22, Paul Taylor, “Greece Debates Revive Old European Fears and Resentments”, inThe New York Times[9],→ISSN,→OCLC, archived fromthe original on3 April 2010, Inside Europe:
President Nicolas Sarkozy of France is open toan European monetary fund but would want it to raise money cheaply on capital markets and lend it to needy euro-zone countries before they faced possible default.
2021 April 13, Neil Vigdor, “Hank Aaron’s Name Will Replace a Confederate General’s on an Atlanta School”, inThe New York Times[10],→ISSN,→OCLC, archived fromthe original on14 April 2021, U.S.[11]:
Inan unanimous vote on Monday, the city’s school board approved removing the name of Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest from Forrest Hill Academy and calling the alternative school the Hank Aaron New Beginnings Academy.
2024 February 14,Lawrence O'Donnell, 0:29 from the start, inLawrence: Jack Smith asks SCOTUS to move fast on Trump. Nixon case is proof they can.[12],MSNBC, archived fromthe original on15 February 2024:
Having been given seven full days, Jack Smith took exactly one day to file a forty-page response in opposition, to the Supreme Court, making the argument that there was no reason for the Supreme Court to hear Donald Trump's appeal ofan unanimous opinion by the second most important court in the country, the Washington, D.C., Federal Court of Appeals, which supported the trial judge's ruling that there is no such thing as immunity from criminal prosecution for former presidents.
For more quotations using this term, seeCitations:an.
In standard English, the articlean is used before vowel sounds, whilea is used before consonant sounds. Alternatively,an can be found before an unstressed syllable beginning with/h/, as in "an historic". The/h/ may then become silent or is at least very weakly articulated. This usage is favoured by only 6% of British speakers, and is only slightly more common in writing.[1]
Historically,an could also be found beforeone and before many words with initial⟨u⟩,⟨eu⟩ (now pronounced with initial/juː/,/jʊ/,/jə/), such aseunuch,unique, andutility. This is because those initial letters were pronounced as vowels. In writing,an remained usual before such words until the 19th century -- long after these words acquired initial consonant sounds in standard English. This is still occasionally seen.[2]
In the other direction,a often occurs before a vowel in nonstandard and dialectal speech and in its written representations.[3] Example: "ain't this a innerestin sitchation" (Moira Young,Blood Red Road).
The various article senses ofa are all senses ofan.
^Fowler's Dictionary of Modern English Usage (2015,→ISBN, page 2: "Before words beginning withh [...] the standard modern approach is to usea (neveran) together with an aspiratedh [...], but not to demur if others usean with minimal or nil aspiration given to the followingh (an historic /әn (h)ɪsˈtɒrɪk/,an horrific /әn (h)ɒˈrɪfɪk/, etc.)."Fowler's goes on to source the 6% figure to Wells (third edition, 2008).
Thereupon, quoth he, "O woman, for sundry days I have seen thee attend the levée sans a word said; so tell mean thou have any requirement I may grant."
This is the same as the worda in such contexts, modified because of preceding a vowel sound (after an unpronouncedh).The train was speeding along at a milea minute.
Lock, Arnold Hugo. 2011.Abau Grammar. Data Papers on Papua New Guinea Languages 57. Ukarumpa, Papua New Guinea: SIL-PNG Academic Publications.Available online.
p.68, Table 21 (listed under Class 7, Feminine)
SIL International (2020), “Abau Dictionary”, inWebonary.org[13]
-an, no matter the context, is only used withintransitive verbs.
-an may act as anemphasizing pronoun, emphasizing what is doing the action. This may lead to situations where the context is ambiguous, since the verb could be in the passive voice. In example four, it can mean “The person is dying” or “The person is being killed.”
-an may be often used as aninclusive first-person pronoun (we) as well as arespectful second-person pronoun. See examples two and three.
This particle is analyzed as the definite article (i.e.,the) when used alone, and the indefinite article (i.e.,a oran) when used with the numeral "saro".
“an” inMartalar, Umberto Martello; Bellotto, Alfonso (1974),Dizionario della lingua Cimbra dei Sette Communi vicentini, 1st edition, Roana, Italy: Instituto di Cultura Cimbra A. Dal Pozzo
Bělá se tam, bělá žena,ana malé dítě nese. ―A white form can be seen there, a white womanwho is carrying a child.
Vidíš-li poutníka,an dlouhou lučinou spěchá ku cíli, než červánky pohynou? ―Do you see a traveller hastening ere the twilight passes away across the long meadows towards a destination?
A lengthened form/aːn/ is possible in non-prepositional uses, e.g. in the prefixan- or the adverbdaran. This was formerly widespread, but is now chiefly restricted to Austria and Switzerland (where it is optional). Compare similarly the distinction betweenin andein-.
Usually used to refer to something being on a vertical surface, as opposed toauf, which usually points to a horizontal surface.
When followed by the masculine/neuter definite article in the dative case (i.e.dem(“the”)), the two words generally contract toam(“on the”) if not emphasized.
When followed by the neuter definite article in the accusative case (i.e.das(“the”)), the two words generally contract toans(“on the”) if not emphasized.
D: Triggerslenition afterde,do, andi (except ofd, t), no mutation withidir, andeclipsis otherwise (varies by dialect); s lenites tots;s always lenites with feminine nouns, even with prepositions that normally trigger eclipsis, but does not lenite at all with masculine nouns E: Triggerseclipsis H: Triggersh-prothesis L: Triggerslenition (except ofd, t;s lenites tots) T: Triggerst-prothesis
orrather, or on thecontrary (where the opinion of the speaker or the probability inclines to the second interrogative clause, and this is made emphatic, as a corrective of the former)
or, or rather, orindeed, orperhaps (where, as is frequent, the first part of the interrogation is not expressed, but is to be supplied from the context,an begins the interrogation, but it does not begin an absolute –i.e., non-disjunctive – interrogation)
denoting uncertainty by itself, without a verb of doubting
(chiefly in and after theAugustan period)standing forsīve
where the first disjunctive clause is to be supplied from the general idea or wherean stands forutrum ornecne
Since in such distributive sentences expressive of doubt, the opinion of the speaker or the probability usually inclines to the second,i.e. to the clause beginning withan, the expressionshaud sciō an,nesciō an, anddubitō an incline to an affirmative signification, “I almost know”, “I am inclined to think”, “I almost think”, “I might say”, “I might assert that”, etc., for “perhaps”, “probably”.
Sometimes the distributive clause beginning withan designates directly the opposite, the more improbable, the negative; in which casenesciō an,haud sciō an, etc., like the EnglishI know not whether, signify “I think that not”, “I believe that not”, etc.
Carl Meißner; Henry William Auden (1894),Latin Phrase-Book[17], London:Macmillan and Co.
to offer a person the alternative of... or..:optionem alicui dare, utrum...an
it is a debated point whether... or..:in contentione ponitur, utrum...an
it is a difficult point, disputed question:magna quaestio est (followed by an indirect question)
to keep, celebrate a festival:diem festum agere (of an individual)
^De Vaan, Michiel (2008),Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill,→ISBN
Transcriptions of Mandarin into the Latin script often do not distinguish between the criticaltonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without indication of tone.
In later non-Northern Middle English,a is usually found before consonants other than/h/, whilean is usually found preceding vowels and/h/. However,an often occurs before any consonant in earlier Middle English.
In early Middle English, the indefinite article is often omitted; occasional omission persists into later Middle English.
Inflected forms of the indefinite article are sometimes found in early Middle English; see the inflection table below.
A user suggests that this Old English entry be cleaned up, giving the reason:“manual inflection table should be moved to a template”.
Please see the discussion onRequests for cleanup(+) or thetalk page for more information and remove this template after the problem has been dealt with.
995. Anglo-Saxon Gospels,Translation, Gospel of Saint Matthew, chapter 8, verse 8.
Ðā andswarode sē hundredes ealdor and ðus cwæþ, Drihten, ne eom ic wyrðe, ðæt ðū ingange under mīne þecene; ac cweþ ðīnān word, and mīn cnapa biþ ġehǣled.
Then answered the centurion, and said thus, Lord, I am not worthy, that you enter under my roof; but say your wordonly, and my boy will be healed.
c.800–825, Diarmait, Milan Glosses on the Psalms, published inThesaurus Palaeohibernicus (reprinted 1987, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), edited and with translations by Whitley Stokes and John Strachan, vol. I, pp. 7–483, Ml. 112b13
Is demniu liunn a n-ad·chiam hua sulib ol·daasan ro·chluinemmar hua chluasaib.
What we see with the eyes is more certain for us thanwhat we hear with the ears.
1888 [1388], Romuald Hube, editor,Zbiór rot przysiąg sądowych poznańskich, kościańskich, kaliskich, sieradzkich, piotrkowskich i dobrzyszyckich z końca wieku XIV i pierwszych lat wieku XV[18],Greater Poland, page 5:
Wlost umouil Swenthoslauem rok,an gi na tem rocze ianl
[Włost umówił z Świętosławem rok,an ji na tem roce jął]
B. Sieradzka-Baziur,Ewa Deptuchowa, Joanna Duska, Mariusz Frodyma, Beata Hejmo, Dorota Janeczko, Katarzyna Jasińska, Krystyna Kajtoch, Joanna Kozioł, Marian Kucała, Dorota Mika, Gabriela Niemiec, Urszula Poprawska, Elżbieta Supranowicz, Ludwika Szelachowska-Winiarzowa, Zofia Wanicowa, Piotr Szpor, Bartłomiej Borek, editors (2011–2015), “an”, inSłownik pojęciowy języka staropolskiego [Conceptual Dictionary of Old Polish] (in Polish), Kraków:IJP PAN,→ISBN
an (+ dative,no mutation,before the definite articleanns,combined with the singular definite articlesan,sa,combined with the plural definite articlesna)
Lương Bèn (2011),Từ điển Tày-Việt [Tay-Vietnamese dictionary][23][24] (in Vietnamese), Thái Nguyên: Nhà Xuất bản Đại học Thái Nguyên
Dương Nhật Thanh; Hoàng Tuấn Nam (2003), Hoàng Triều Ân, editor,Từ điển chữ Nôm Tày [A Dictionary of (chữ) Nôm Tày][25] (in Tày and Vietnamese), Hanoi: Nhà xuất bản Khoa học xã hội [Social Sciences Publishing House]
Léopold Michel Cadière (1910),Dictionnaire Tày-Annamite-Français [Tày-Vietnamese-French Dictionary][26] (in French), Hanoi: Impressions d'Extrême-Orient
This particle is analyzed as the definite article (i.e.,the) when used alone, and the indefinite article (i.e.,a oran) when used with the numeral "usa" plus "ka" that quantifies an object/object that it modifies.
Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828), William Barnes, editor,A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published1867
1 Except foryín, object pronouns have a high tone following a low or mid tone monosyllabic verb, and a mid tone following a high tone. For complex verbs, the tone does not change.
