an

Forms

an ^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *an, perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *h₂en (“there, on the other side”).^[2][1] De Vaan compares Gothic 𐌰𐌽 (an, “so? now?”), Lithuanian angu (“or”) and Old Prussian anga-anga (“whether”); the link with the Greek particle Ancient Greek ἄν (án), which the OLD gives, is less certain.^[2][3] Lewis & Short call the origin very obscure, and the TLL suggests a contraction of ⟨*atne⟩.^[4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found from Livius Andronicus on: inferus an superus tibī fert deus fūnera, Ulixēs? “is it a god below or above who brings you death, Ulysses?”.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

An introduces the second part of a double question (“or”), with or without utrum or -ne in the first; alone it opens a question with surprise or indignation (“can it really be that …?”), or offers a suggested answer.^[3][1] In indirect questions it means “whether” (an nōn “or not”), and haud sciō an or nesciō an means “I rather think, probably”.^[3][4]

From the Augustan period it can stand for sīve; in Medieval Latin it was a plain synonym of aut and vel.^[1][6]

Timeline

• c. 280–200 BC – Livius Andronicus: inferus an superus …?^[3][2][7]
• 204–169 BC – Ennius: vīvam an moriar, “whether I live or die”.^[3][7]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero: paucīs ante quam mortuus est diēbus an mēnsibus, “a few days or months before his death”.^[3][7]
• c. 550–1150 – Medieval Latin uses it as a synonym of aut.^[6]

Meanings

Conjunction

1. or (in the second part of a double question).^[3][1]
2. (opening a question) Can it be that …? Or is it that …?^[3]
3. (in indirect questions) whether;^[3][1] an nōn, or not.^[3][1]
4. haud sciō an, nesciō an, I rather think, probably.^[3][1]
5. Or, or perhaps (introducing an alternative).^[3]
6. (Medieval Latin) Or (= aut, vel).^[6]

Word family

• anne
• annōn
• forsan

Related words

• utrum
• num
• -ne

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
6. ^ a b c Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
7. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de