Where does “an” come from?

an (Norwegian Bokmål) comes from German an, from Middle High German āne, from Old High German āna, from Proto-West Germanic ana, from Proto-Germanic *an, from Proto-Germanic ana, from Proto-Indo-European h₂en- — on, onto.

an (Norwegian Bokmål): imperative of ane

Definitions

  1. imperative of ane

Ancestry of “an”, step by step

an traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via German an

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Germananon; upon; at; in; against; by; near; close to;...
2Middle High Germanānewithout
3Old High Germanānawithout
4Proto-West Germanicanaon
5Proto-Germanic*an—
6Proto-Germanicanaon, at; on, onto; ana
7Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂en-on, onto

via Middle Low German an

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Low Germananon
2Old Saxonanon, in

Words derived from “an”

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