Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/an

This Proto-Germanic entry contains reconstructed terms and roots. As such, the term(s) in this entry are not directly attested, but are hypothesized to have existed based on comparative evidence.

Proto-Germanic

Alternative forms

• *ana

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-European *h₂én (“up, on high”), but the exact formation is disputed due to the final vowel in descendants that reflect *ana. According to Kroonen, who derives both *an and *ana from a pre-Germanic *h₂enh̥₂, the final vowel was lost by regular sound change but remained in compound forms, whence it was restored in some of the daughter languages. Alternative explanations for the final vowel include a fossilized suffix *-o/*-ó of uncertain (allative?) function, as in *anda.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɑn/

Preposition

*an

1. on, upon [with dative]
2. onto [with accusative]

Adverb

*an

1. on, onto

Descendants

• Proto-West Germanic: *an, *ana
  • Old English: an, on
    • Middle English: an, on, one, onne, hon, ane, an (before initial h or vowel), æn (Early Middle English), one, onne, an
      • English: on
      • Scots: an, on
      • Yola: on
  • Old Frisian: on, an
    • North Frisian: a
    • Saterland Frisian: an, oun
    • West Frisian: oan
  • Old Saxon: ana, an
    • Middle Low German: an
      • Low German: an
  • Old Dutch: ana, an, in
    • Middle Dutch: āne, āen, an
      • Dutch: aan, (unstressed pronunciation spelling) an
        • Afrikaans: aan
        • Jersey Dutch: ân
        • Negerhollands: aan, an
        • Skepi Creole Dutch: an
      • Limburgish: aan
  • Old High German: ana
    • Middle High German: ane, an
      • Cimbrian: å
      • German: an
      • Hunsrik: aan
      • Luxembourgish: un
      • Pennsylvania German: aa
      • Yiddish: אָן (on)
• Proto-Norse: ᚨᚾ (an), ᚨᚾᚨ (ana)
  • Old Norse: á
    • Icelandic: á
    • Faroese: á
    • Norwegian Nynorsk: å (dialectal)
    • Elfdalian: ą̊
    • Old Swedish: ā
      • Swedish: å, a (dialectal)
    • Old Danish: ā
      • Danish: å (dialectal)
• Gothic: 𐌰𐌽𐌰 (ana)
• → Proto-Finnic: *ani (see there for further descendants)