an German · revision 34789

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=765, Old High German glosses|origins=ine-pro *ana}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /an/, [ʔan]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''an'''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|gmh|ane]], [[inh|goh|ana]], [[inh|gem-pro|*ana]].^(Kluge 2011|41)^(Wiktionary)^(EWA|1, 213) The same word is [[got|𐌰𐌽𐌰|tr=ana]], [[non|á]], [[ang|on]], [[ofs|on]] and [[osx|an]],^(Kluge 2011|41)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Orel 2003) and it survives as [[nl|aan]], [[en|on]] and [[sv|å]].^(Kluge 2011|41) It goes back to [[ine-pro|*ana]], as do [[grc|ἀνά|tr=aná|t=on, up, along]] and [[ae|ana|t=over, along]].^(Kluge 2011|41)^(Orel 2003)^(Duden 7 2020) Pfeifer and the revised Grimm add [[sa|अनु|tr=ánu|t=after, along]], [[cu|на|tr=na]] and [[ru|на|tr=na|t=on, at]], which lost the first syllable, and the prefix of [[la|anhēlō|t=to pant]], and set up Indo-European forms meaning “up along, towards”.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(DWB2|2, 714)

+

+ Wiktionary derives it from [[ine-pro|*h₂én|t=up, on high]]; the final vowel of the Germanic form is disputed, and Kroonen explains it from a pre-Germanic form with a laryngeal.^(Wiktionary) Pfeifer thinks the original sense was “upwards”, which can hardly be seen in Germanic except in words like [[bergan]] “uphill” and [[himmelan]] “heavenwards”.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Old High German ''ana'' is recorded from the 8th century, first in glosses of about 765.^(Kluge 2011|41)^(Köbler AHD)^(Wiktionary DE) It is used in the ''Hildebrandslied'', the ''Muspilli'', Otfrid and Notker as a preposition with the dative, accusative and instrumental, meaning “on, in, at, after, over, by, to, from, concerning”.^(Schützeichel 2012|34)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The preposition first expressed contact in space.^(Paul 2002) Middle High German and Early New High German could still say ''an dem Grase sitzen'' “to sit on the grass”, where ''auf'' is now used;^(Paul 2002) ''an der Küste'' “on the coast” and ''ans Land'' “ashore” are remnants of the older use.^(Paul 2002) As a free adverb ''an'' was replaced by [[heran]] and [[hinan]], but it lives on in separable verbs such as [[ankommen]], in [[anbei]], [[voran]] and [[fortan]], and in short phrases such as ''das Licht ist an'' “the light is on”.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Paul 2002)^(Duden 7 2020) The phrase ''von … an'' “from … on” is Early New High German.^(Paul 2002)

+

+ In Upper German, especially Bavarian and Austrian, the vowel has long been pronounced long; spellings such as ''ân'' (1292) and ''ahn'' (16th to 18th century) show this, and Adelung noted it in 1774.^(DWB2|2, 714) The contracted forms ''am'' and ''ans'' became frequent from Early New High German on.^(DWB2|2, 714) Words formed from ''an'' include [[ahnen]] and [[ähnlich]].^(Duden 7 2020)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 765 – Old High German ''ana'' appears in glosses.^(Köbler AHD)

+ * 1060–1065 – Middle High German ''ane'' is used in Williram's commentary on the Song of Songs.^(Köbler MHD)

+ * 1292 – The spelling ''ân'' in a charter points to a long vowel.^(DWB2|2, 714)

+ * 1543 – The spelling ''ahn'' appears, used until the 18th century.^(DWB2|2, 714)

+ * 1774 – Adelung notes that Upper Germans pronounce the word long, as if written ''ahn''.^(DWB2|2, 714)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Preposition===

+ # With the accusative: to, against, onto; marking direction towards a place or person: ''die Leiter an den Baum lehnen'' “to lean the ladder against the tree”, ''ein Paket an jemanden schicken'' “to send someone a parcel”.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # With the dative: at, on, by; marking position, [[m|en|proximity]] or contact: ''Trier liegt an der Mosel'' “Trier is on the Moselle”.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # With the dative: on; marking a point in time: ''an einem Wintermorgen'' “on a winter morning”;^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary) ''(southern Germany, Austria, Switzerland)'' ''an Ostern'' “at Easter”.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Marking a relation to an object, without a sense of space or time: of, on, in, about: ''an einer Krankheit sterben'' “to die of an illness”, ''an jemanden glauben'' “to believe in someone”.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # After ''bis'', with the accusative: up to, until: ''bis an die Knie'' “up to the knees”.^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+

+ ===Adverb===

+ # ''(transport)'' [[m|en|arrival|alt=Arriving]]: ''Frankfurt an 17.30'' “arriving at Frankfurt 17.30”.^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+ # With ''von'': from … on: ''von jetzt an'' “from now on”.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Paul 2002)

+ # ''(colloquial)'' [[m|en|switched on]], alight: ''das Licht ist an''.^(Paul 2002)^(Wiktionary DE)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[am]]

+ * [[ans]]

+ * [[heran]]

+ * [[hinan]]

+ * [[anbei]]

+ * [[voran]]

+ * [[fortan]]

+ * [[bergan]]

+ * [[ahnen]]

+ * [[ähnlich]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[en|on]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''An sich'' or ''an und für sich'' means “in itself, actually”, ''an sich halten'' “to restrain oneself with difficulty”, and ''es ist an jemandem, etwas zu tun'' “it is up to someone to do something”.^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}