Where does “an” come from?
an (Norwegian Nynorsk) 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.
Ancestry of “an”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | German | an | on; upon; at; in; against; by; near; close to;... |
| 2 | Middle High German | āne | without |
| 3 | Old High German | āna | without |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | ana | on |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | *an | — |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | ana | on, at; on, onto; ana |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂en- | on, onto |