Where does “ān” come from?

ān (Old English) comes from Proto-West Germanic ain, from Proto-Germanic ainaz, from Proto-Indo-European óynos — one; single.

ān (Old English): lonely; entirely alone, solitary, single; one

Definitions

  1. lonely; entirely alone, solitary, single; one

Ancestry of “ān”, step by step

ān traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Proto-West Germanic ain

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Proto-West Germanicainone
2Proto-Germanicainazone; some
3Proto-Indo-Europeanóynosone; single

via Proto-Germanic *ain

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Proto-Germanic*ain—

Words derived from “ān”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European óynos →Every word from Proto-Germanic ainaz →Every word from Proto-West Germanic ain →