Where does “anan” come from?

anan (Middle English) comes from Old English on, from Proto-West Germanic ana, from Proto-Germanic *an, from Proto-Germanic ana, from Proto-Indo-European h₂en- — on, onto.

Ancestry of “anan”, step by step

anan traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Old English on

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishonon, in, at, among; from
2Proto-West Germanicanaon
3Proto-Germanic*an—
4Proto-Germanicanaon, at; on, onto; ana
5Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂en-on, onto

via Old English ān

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishānlonely; entirely alone, solitary, single; one
2Proto-West Germanicainone
3Proto-Germanicainazone; some
4Proto-Indo-Europeanóynosone; single

Words derived from “anan”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂en- →Every word from Proto-Germanic ana →Every word from Proto-Germanic *an →