Etymologically
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anon

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Pronunciation

  • UK: /əˈnɒn/[1]
  • US: /əˈnɑn/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English anon, also anan and onan,[2][3][4] inherited from Old English on ān (“into one”), also on āne and on ānum (“in one”),[5][6][7][8] formed from on (“in, on”) and the accusative, dative or instrumental of ān (“one”).[5][6][4] The OED describes it as a merging of these two prepositional constructions.[5] It is related to on and one.[3][9][10] Johnson (1755) reported Junius's view that it was short for "in one minute".[11]

Earliest recorded meaning

In Old English the phrase meant "in or into one" body or company, together, and also "straight on, continuously" and "at once, immediately".[5][7] Barnhart dates it to about 800, in the sense "at once".[3]

Semantic evolution

The Oxford Dictionary of English explains the temporal sense "at once" as developing from the original "in or into one state or course".[7] The sense "all the way to", anon to, is recorded from the Peterborough Chronicle (late Old English) to 1582.[5][3] Middle English used anon constantly for "at once, immediately": Chaucer has it 485 times and Gower 260.[12] From "at once" it weakened to "soon, in a little while", which Etymonline calls a gradual misuse and dates to the 1520s;[13] the OED dates this sense to about 1475,[5] and Barnhart even finds it before 1200, in the Ancrene Riwle.[3] Weekley compares the similar weakening of presently.[8] As a reply to a call, anon meant "at once, coming!";[13] Weekley derives the dialect interjection anan, "what did you say?", from this stock reply of a summoned servant.[8][14] In Devon anon could mean "tonight".[14] The phrase ever and anon, every now and then, is recorded from 1558.[5]

Timeline

  • c. 800 – Old English on ān, at once.[3]
  • Old English – in or into one, together; straight on; at once, immediately.[5]
  • before 1121 – onward, all the way (to).[3][5]
  • c. 1475 – in a little while, soon.[5] Etymonline dates this sense to the 1520s, Barnhart to before 1200.[13][3]
  • 1516 – at the present moment, now.[5]
  • 1558 – ever and anon, now and then.[5]
  • 1596 – interjection, what did you say?[4]
  • mid 18th century – anon, short for anonymous.[15]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. (archaic or literary) In a short time; soon: I will speak of this anon.[16][4][15]
  2. ever and anon: every now and then; from time to time.[16][5]
  3. (archaic) At once; immediately.[4][5][15]

Interjection

  1. (dialect) Used to ask a speaker to repeat something not heard or understood.[4][14]

Adjective

  1. Short for anonymous; also, as Anon, a name for an author or composer whose name is unknown: a ballad by Anon.[15][16]

Usage notes

Anon or Anon. for an unknown author, recorded from the mid-18th century, is an abbreviation of anonymous and has a separate source from the adverb.[15][16][17] The dialect interjection, also written anan or nan, was widely used in the dialects of Scotland, Ireland, England and America.[14]

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b c Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  8. ^ a b c Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
  9. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  10. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  11. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  12. ^ Benson, Larry D., Glossarial Concordance to Middle English (Chaucer, Gower), Johns Hopkins University, github.com/jhu-digital-manuscripts/gcme
  13. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  14. ^ a b c d Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)
  15. ^ a b c d e Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  16. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  17. ^ Partridge, Eric (1966), Origins: A Short Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, 4th ed., London: Routledge & Kegan Paul