(Southern American English, Midland American English) IPA(key): /ɔn/
(Southern American English) IPA(key): /ɔʊn/
Rhymes: -ɒn
Homophone: awn(Midland American English, Southern American English, Cot-Caught merger)
Etymology 1
From Middle Englishon, from Old Englishon, an(“on, upon, onto, in, into”), from Proto-Germanic*ana(“on, at”), from Proto-Indo-European*h₂en-. Cognate with North Frisiana(“on, in”), Saterland Frisianan(“on, at”), West Frisianoan(“on, at”), Dutchaan(“on, at, to”), Low Germanan(“on, at”), Germanan(“to, at, on”), Swedishå(“on, at, in”), Faroeseá(“on, onto, in, at”), Icelandicá(“on, in”), Gothic𐌰𐌽𐌰(ana), Ancient Greekἀνά(aná, “up, upon”), Albaniannë(“in”); and from Old Norseupp á: Danishpå, Swedishpå, Norwegianpå, see upon.
Adjective
on (not comparable)
In the state of being active, functioning or operating.
Antonym:off
All the lights are on, so they must be home.
Performing according to schedule; taking place.
That TV programme that you wanted to watch is on now.
Fitted; covering; being worn.
Your feet will soon warm up once your socks are on.
I was trying to drink out of the bottle while the top was still on!
(postpositive) Of a stated part of something, oriented towards the viewer or other specified direction.
The photograph shows the UFO side on.
edge on, side on, end on, face on
(chiefly Britain, informal, usually negative) Acceptable, appropriate.
1998 May 22, "Phoenix Gamma", If I was owned Nintendo..., alt.games.video.nintendo-64:
This kind of over-packaging of goods is completely not on.
2003 August 12, "DAB sounds worse than FM", Gerg Dyke's Speech at Radio Festival, alt.radio.digital:
so Simon Nelson saying on Feedback "we'd prefer it if everybody listened to digital radio via DAB" is completely not on at all.
(informal) Destined, normally in the context of a challenge being accepted; involved, doomed.
(baseball, informal) Having reached a base as a runner and being positioned there, awaiting further action from a subsequent batter.
(cricket) Within the half of the field on the same side as the batsman's legs; the left side for a right-handed batsman.
Synonym:leg; Antonym:off
The captain moved two fielders to the on side.
Ponsonby-Smythe hit a thumping on drive.
(euphemistic) Menstruating.
Synonyms
(baseball: positioned at a base):on base (not informal)
Translations
See on/translations § Adjective.
Adverb
on (not comparable)
For idiomatic meanings of phrasal verbs, such as carry on, hang on, have on, try on, etc., please see the individual entries.
To an operating state.
So as to cover or be fitted.
The lid wasn't screwed on properly.
Put on your hat and gloves.
Along, forwards (continuing an action).
In continuation, at length.
(obsolete in the US) Later.
Of betting odds, denoting a better-than-even chance.See also odds-on.
Antonym:against
That horse is twenty-to-one on, so you need to stake twenty pounds just to win one pound.
Positioned at the upper surface of, touching from above.
The parrot was sitting on Jim's shoulder.
1845, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, The Bridge
I stood on the bridge at midnight.
Positioned at or resting against the outer surface of; attached to.
He had a scar on the side of his face.
There is a dirty smudge on this window.
Expressing figurative placement or attachment.
All of the responsibility is on him.
I put a bet on the winning horse.
Denoting performance or action by contact with the surface, upper part, or outside of anything; hence, by means of; with.
At or in (a certain region or location).
The lighthouse that you can see is on the mainland.
The suspect is thought to still be on the campus.
Near; adjacent to; alongside.
Supported by (the specified part of itself).
So as to impart force to.
tug on the rope; push hard on the door
So as to impact; against.
I stubbed my toe on an old tree stump.
Covering.
(with certain modes of transport, especially public transport) Inside (a vehicle) for the purpose of travelling.
on a bus, on a train, on a plane
At the date of.
Some time during the day of.
At a given time after the start of something; at.
Dealing with the subject of; about; concerning.
(informal) In the possession of.
Because of, or due to.
Upon; at the time of (and often because of).
Paid for by.
Indicating a means or medium.
Indicating the target of, or thing affected by, an event or action.
They planned an attack on London.
The soldiers mutinied and turned their guns on their officers.
Toward; for; indicating the object of an emotion.
Indicating a means of subsistence.
Away or occupied with (e.g. a scheduled activity).
Regularly taking (a drug).
Under the influence of (a drug).
(mathematics) Having identical domain and codomain.
(mathematics) Having as domain and V as codomain, for some set V and integer n.
(mathematics) Generated by.
In addition to; besides; indicating multiplication or succession in a series.
(obsolete, regional) of
Indicating dependence or reliance.
(obsolete) At the peril of, or for the safety of.
Serving as a member of.
By virtue of; with the pledge of.
To the account or detriment of; denoting imprecation or invocation, or coming to, falling, or resting upon.
(especially when numbers of combatants or competitors are specified) Against; in opposition to.
The fight was three on one, and he never stood a chance.
Synonyms
(dealing with the subject of):about, apropos, as for; See also Thesaurus:about
(because of):by dint of, due to; See also Thesaurus:because of
Derived terms
Related terms
depend (on)
put on airs
phrases starting with "on the"
Translations
See on/translations § Preposition.
Verb
on (third-person singular simple presentons, present participleoningoronning, simple past and past participleonedoronned)
(transitive, Singapore, Philippines) to switch on
Synonym:turn on
Etymology 2
From Old Norseón, án(“without”), from Proto-Germanic*ēnu, *ēno, *ino(“without”), from Proto-Indo-European*anew, *enew(“without”). Cognate with North Frisianon(“without”), Middle Dutchan, on(“without”), Middle Low Germanāne(“without”), Germanohne(“without”), Gothic𐌹𐌽𐌿(inu, “without, except”), Ancient Greekἄνευ(áneu, “without”).
Alternative forms
ohn
Preposition
on
(Britain dialectal, Scotland) Without.
Usage notes
Usually followed by a present participle, as being, having, etc.
Etymology 3
From Japanese音読み(on'yomi, literally “sound reading”).
Noun
on
In the Japanese language, a pronunciation, or reading, of a kanji character that was originally based on the character's pronunciation in Chinese, contrasted with kun.
Related terms
kun
References
on at OneLook Dictionary Search
Anagrams
N.O., NO, No, No., no, no.
Azerbaijani
Etymology
From Proto-Turkic*ōn(“ten”). Cognate with Old Turkic [Term?] (/on/, “ten”).
Numeral
on
ten
References
Basque
Etymology
From Proto-Basque*boń.
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /on/
Adjective
on (comparativehobe, superlativeonenorhoberen, excessiveonegi)
good
useful, convenient
Declension
Further reading
“on” in Euskaltzaindiaren Hiztegia, euskaltzaindia.eus
“on” in Orotariko Euskal Hiztegia, euskaltzaindia.eus
Catalan
Alternative forms
ahont, hon, hont (archaic)
Etymology
From Old Occitan [Term?] (compare Occitanont), from Latinunde (compare Frenchdont).
Pronunciation
(Balearic, Central, Valencian) IPA(key): /ˈon/
Adverb
on
where
Further reading
“on” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
“on” in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana.
“on” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
“on” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.
Central Franconian
Alternative forms
un(widely in free variation)
en(some western dialects)
Etymology
The native form in most dialects was Old High Germanindi, whence the variant en. In parts of the Eifel, this indi regularly becomes on (compare Luxembourgishan). In southern and eastern dialects, on the other hand, on may have been inherited from the Old High German variant unde (unti). From these two groups of dialects, the form will have spread, without doubt under influence of Germanund.
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /on/
Conjunction
on
and
Salz on Päfer
salt and pepper
Classical Nahuatl
Pronoun
on, ōn
(demonstrative) that; those
Related terms
in
References
Michel Launey; Christopher Mackay (2011) An Introduction to Classical Nahuatl, Amazon Kindle: Cambridge University Press, pages Loc 1408
Cornish
Alternative forms
ôn
Etymology
From Proto-Celtic*ognos, from Proto-Indo-European*h₂egʷnós(“lamb”).
Pronunciation
(Revived Middle Cornish) IPA(key): [ɔːn]
(Revived Late Cornish) IPA(key): [oːn]
Noun
onm (pluralen)
lamb
Crimean Tatar
Numeral
on
ten
Czech
Etymology
From Old Czechon, from Proto-Slavic*onъ, from Proto-Indo-European*h₂eno-
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /on/
Rhymes: -on
Pronoun
onm
he (third person personal singular)
Declension
Related terms
ona, ono
oni, ony
See also
já
ty
my
vy
Further reading
on in Příruční slovník jazyka českého, 1935–1957
on in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého, 1960–1971, 1989
Dutch
Adverb
on
rarely used as shorthand for oneven (odd), the prefix on- means not (corresponds to English un-)
Estonian
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /ˈon/
Verb
on
third-person singular present indicative of olema
third-person plural present indicative of olema
Finnish
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /ˈon/, [ˈo̞n]
Rhymes: -on
Syllabification: on
Verb
on
third-person singular indicative present of olla
Anagrams
no
French
Alternative forms
l'on(formal)
Etymology
From Old Frenchhom, om (nominative form), from Latinhomō(“human being”) (compare homme from the Old French oblique form home, from the Latin accusative form hominem). Its pronominal use is of Germanic origin. Compare Old Englishman(“one, they, people”), reduced form of Old Englishmann(“person”); Catalanhom; Germanman(“one, they, people”); Dutchmen(“one, they, people”).
Synonyms:quelqu'un (in some contexts), l'on (formal)
2003, Natasha St. Pier, L’instant d’après (album), Quand on cherche l’amour (song)
Quand on cherche l'amour...
When one searches for love...
(personal, informal) we
Synonym:nous (in some contexts)
Usage notes
In informal French, on has almost completely replaced the pronoun nous(“we”) to indicate the first person plural.
The variant l'on is used in more formal or literary contexts.
Related terms
Descendants
→ Esperanto: oni
→ Ido: onu
→ Interlingue: on
Further reading
“on” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).
Anagrams
NO, nô
German Low German
Conjunction
on
(in several dialects, including Low Prussian)Alternative form of un(and)
Ido
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /on/, /ɔn/
Pronoun
on
Apocopic form of onu; one, someone, they (indefinite personal pronoun)
See also
Ingrian
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /ˈon/
Verb
on
third-person singular indicative present active of olla
References
V. I. Junus (1936) Iƶoran Keelen Grammatikka[4], Leningrad: Riikin Ucebno-pedagogiceskoi Izdateljstva, page 122
Vitalij Chernyavskij (2005) Ižoran keel (Ittseopastaja)[5], page 11
Interlingua
Pronoun
on
one(indefinite personal pronoun)
Japanese
Romanization
on
Rōmaji transcription of おん
Karelian
Verb
on
(there) is
Middle English
Etymology 1
From Old Englishon, from Proto-Germanic*ana(“on, at”).
Preposition
on
on, in
Adverb
on
on
Alternative forms
(preposition):one, onne, hon, ane; an (before initial h or vowel); æn (early)
(adverb):one, onne, an
Descendants
English: on
Scots: an, on
References
“on, prep.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
“on, adv.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
Etymology 2
Numeral
on
Alternative form of oon
Pronoun
on
Alternative form of oon
Adverb
on
Alternative form of oon
Determiner
on
(Early Middle English)Alternative form of a(indefinite article)
Etymology 3
Verb
on
(Early Middle English)first/third-person singular present of unnen
Etymology 4
Noun
on (uncountable)
Alternative form of wone(“course”)
Etymology 5
Noun
on (uncountable)
Alternative form of oven
Northern Sami
Etymology
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Pronunciation
(Kautokeino) IPA(key): /ˈoːn/
Adverb
ōn
again
Further reading
Koponen, Eino; Ruppel, Klaas; Aapala, Kirsti, editors (2002-2008) Álgu database: Etymological database of the Saami languages[6], Helsinki: Research Institute for the Languages of Finland
From Proto-Slavic*onъ, from Proto-Indo-European*h₂eno-.
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /on/
Pronoun
on (third person)
he
Declension
Descendants
Czech: on
Old English
Alternative forms
an
Etymology
From Proto-Germanic*ana
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /on/
Preposition
on(West Saxon)
on, in, at, among [+dative or instrumental]
Adverb
on(West Saxon)
(with verbs of taking or depriving) from
Descendants
Middle English: an, on, one, onne, hon, ane
English: on
Scots: an, on
Old French
Alternative forms
hon
Etymology
See hom, om.
Pronoun
on
one (gender-neutral third-person singular pronoun)
Descendants
French: on
Old Frisian
Etymology
From Proto-Germanic*an(“on”), from Proto-Indo-European*h₂en-(“up”). Cognates include Old Englishon, Old Saxonana and Old Dutchana.
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /on/
Preposition
on
on
Descendants
North Frisian: a
Saterland Frisian: an, oun
West Frisian: oan
References
Bremmer, Rolf H. (2009) An Introduction to Old Frisian: History, Grammar, Reader, Glossary, Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company, →ISBN
Old Irish
Pronoun
on
Alternative spelling of ón
Article
on
Alternative spelling of ón
Polish
Etymology
From Proto-Slavic*onъ, from Proto-Indo-European*h₂eno-.
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /ɔn/
Pronoun
on (plural: masculine personaloni, all othersone)
he (for animate nouns), it (for inanimate nouns)
Declension
Related terms
ona, ono
oni, one
Pronoun
onm
(dated) this (demonstrative)
Declension
See also
ja
ty
my
wy
Appendix:Polish pronouns
Further reading
on in Polish dictionaries at PWN
Romansch
Alternative forms
(Rumantsch Grischun, Sursilvan, Surmiran)onn
(Puter)an
Etymology
From Latinannus.
Noun
onm (pluralons)
(Sutsilvan, Vallader) year
Serbo-Croatian
Etymology
From Proto-Slavic*onъ, from Proto-Indo-European*h₂eno-
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /ôːn/
Pronoun
ȏn (Cyrillic spellingо̑н)
he
Declension
See also
njezin
njegov
Slovak
Etymology
From Proto-Slavic*onъ, from Proto-Indo-European*h₂eno-; inflected forms from Proto-Slavic*jь, from Proto-Indo-European*éy.
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /ɔn/
Pronoun
on
he (third-person personal masculine singular pronoun)
Declension
Further reading
on in Slovak dictionaries at korpus.sk
Slovene
Etymology
From Proto-Slavic*onъ, from Proto-Indo-European*h₂eno-
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /ɔ́n/
Pronoun
ȍn
he
Inflection
Forms between parentheses indicate clitic forms; the main forms are used for emphasis.
See also
Southeastern Tepehuan
Etymology
From Proto-Uto-Aztecan*ona.
Noun
on
salt
References
R. de Willett, Elizabeth, et al. (2016) Diccionario tepehuano de Santa María Ocotán, Durango (Serie de vocabularios y diccionarios indígenas “Mariano Silva y Aceves”; 48)[7] (in Spanish), electronic edition, Instituto Lingüístico de Verano, A.C., page 140
Swedish
Noun
on
indefinite plural of o
Anagrams
NO, no.
Turkish
Etymology
From Old Turkic𐰆𐰣 (un¹/on/, “ten”), from Proto-Turkic*ōn(“ten”).
Numeral
on
ten
Declension
Turkmen
Etymology
From Old Turkic𐰆𐰣 (un¹/on/, “ten”), from Proto-Turkic*ōn(“ten”).
Numeral
on
ten
Venetian
Article
onm sg
a, an
Usage notes
Variant of un
Volapük
Etymology
Borrowed from Frenchon.
Pronoun
on
it
(obsolete, indefinite personal pronoun) one
Declension
Walloon
Alternative forms
onk
Etymology
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)