an¹ /ən; when stressed æn/USA pronunciation   indefinite article. 

1. Pronounsthe form of a used before an initial vowel sound:an arch, an honor, an hourly wage.

Sometimes, esp. in British English, an is used before an initial h if the h is silent or weakly pronounced and the syllable is unstressed: "an hisˈtorian''; "an hisˈtoric event''.

an-¹ ,

1. prefix.  an- is attached to roots or stems beginning with a vowel or h, and means "not;
   without;
   lacking'':anaerobic (= without oxygen); anonymous (= without name).Compare a-².

-an¹ ,suffix. -an has the general meaning "of, pertaining to, having qualities of''.

1. It is used to form adjectives and nouns from names of places or people, with the meanings:
   • being connected with a place: Chicago + -an → Chicagoan;
     
   • having membership in a group of: Episcopal + -(i)an → Episcopalian;
     
2. It is used to form adjectives with the meaning "of or like (someone);
   supporter or believer of'': Christ + -(i)an → Christian;
   Freud + -(i)an → Freudian (= supporter of or believer in the theories of Sigmund Freud).
3. It is used to form nouns from words ending in -ic or -y, with the meaning "one who works with '': electric + -(i)an → electrician;
   comedy + -an → comedian.

an¹  (ən; when stressed an),USA pronunciation indefinite article.

1. Pronounsthe form of a before an initial vowel sound (an arch;
   an honor) and sometimes, esp. in British English, before an initial unstressed syllable beginning with a silent or weakly pronounced h:an historian.

See a ¹.

an²  (ən; when stressed an),USA pronunciation conj. 

1. [Pron. Spelling.]and.
2. [Archaic.]if.

Also, an', 'n, 'n'. 
An  (än),USA pronunciation n. 

1. Chemistry, Eastern Religionsthe Sumerian god of heaven: the counterpart of the Akkadian Anu.

an-¹ ,

1. a prefix occurring before stems beginning with a vowel or h in loanwords from Greek, where it means "not,'' "without,'' "lacking'' (anarchy;
   anecdote);
   used in the formation of compound words:anelectric.Also, before a consonant, a-. 

an-² ,

1. var. of ad- before n: announce.

an-³ ,

1. var. of ana- before a vowel:anion.

-an ,

1. a suffix occurring originally in adjectives borrowed from Latin, formed from nouns denoting places (Roman;
   urban) or persons (Augustan), and now productively forming English adjectives by extension of the Latin pattern. Attached to geographic names, it denotes provenance or membership (American;
   Chicagoan;
   Tibetan), the latter sense now extended to membership in social classes, religious denominations, etc., in adjectives formed from various kinds of noun bases (Episcopalian;
   pedestrian;
   Puritan;
   Republican) and membership in zoological taxa (acanthocephalan;
   crustacean). Attached to personal names, it has the additional senses "contemporary with'' (Elizabethan;
   Jacobean) or "proponent of '' (Hegelian;
   Freudian) the person specified by the noun base. The suffix -an, and its variant -ian, also occurs in a set of personal nouns, mainly loanwords from French, denoting one who engages in, practices, or works with the referent of the base noun (comedian;
   grammarian;
   historian;
   theologian);
   this usage is esp. productive with nouns ending in -ic (electrician;
   logician;
   technician). See -ian for relative distribution with that suffix. Cf. -enne, -ean, -arian, -ician.

AN ,

1. Language VarietiesAnglo-Norman.

Also, A.-N. 
An ,[Symbol, Chem.]

1. actinon.

an. ,

1. in the year.

A.N. ,

1. Language VarietiesAnglo-Norman.
2. Associate in Nursing.

an•a¹  (an′ə, ä′nə),USA pronunciation n. 

1. a collection of miscellaneous information about a particular subject, person, place, or thing.
2. an item in such a collection, as an anecdote, a memorable saying, etc.

an•a²  (an′ə),USA pronunciation adv. 

1. (of ingredients in pharmaceutical prescriptions) in equal quantities;
   of each. Symbol: āā, āa

ana-, 

1. a prefix in loanwords from Greek, where it means "up,'' "against,'' "back,'' "re-'':anabasis;
   used in the formation of compound words:anacardiaceous.

Also,[esp. before a vowel,] an-. 
-ana, 

1. a suffix that forms collective nouns denoting an assembly of items, as household objects, art, books, or maps, or a description of such items, as a bibliography, all of which are representative of or associated with the place, person, or period named by the stem:Americana;Shakespeareana;Victoriana.

Also, -iana. 
A.N.A., 

1. American Newspaper Association.
2. American Nurses Association.
3. Association of National Advertisers.
Also, ANA