on

See also: Appendix:Variations of "on"

English

Pronunciation

(British Isles, Eastern New England) enPR: ŏn, IPA^(key): /ɒn/
(Northern US, cot–caught merger) enPR: än, IPA^(key): /ɑn/
(Southern American English, Midland US) IPA^(key): /ɔn/
(Southern American English) IPA^(key): /ɔʊn/
Audio (US) (file)
Audio (AU) (file)
Audio (UK) (file)
Rhymes: -ɒn
Homophone: awn (Midland American English, Southern American English, Cot-Caught merger)

Etymology 1

From Middle English on, from Old English on, an (“on, upon, onto, in, into”), from Proto-Germanic *ana (“on, at”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂en-. Cognate with North Frisian a (“on, in”), Saterland Frisian an (“on, at”), West Frisian oan (“on, at”), Dutch aan (“on, at, to”), Low German an (“on, at”), German an (“to, at, on”), Swedish å (“on, at, in”), Faroese á (“on, onto, in, at”), Icelandic á (“on, in”), Gothic 𐌰𐌽𐌰 (ana), Ancient Greek ἀνά (aná, “up, upon”), Albanian në (“in”); and from Old Norse upp á: Danish på, Swedish på, Norwegian på, 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.
Are we still on for tonight?
Is the show still on?
We had to ration our food because there was a war on.
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 UK, informal, usually negative) Acceptable, appropriate.
You can't do that; it's just not on.
- 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.
"Five bucks says the Cavs win tonight." ―"You're on!"
Mike just threw coffee onto Paul's lap. It's on now.
(baseball, informal) Having reached a base as a runner and being positioned there, awaiting further action from a subsequent batter.
- 2019 February 24, Chris Kennedy, “Aggies Earn Series Win Over Yale in Sunday Finale”, in New Mexico State University Athletics‎:
  With one out and no men on, Tristen Carranza belted a ball to the opposite field for a solo home run to put the NM State deficit at just 2-1.
- 2019 April 6, Daniel Martinez-Krams, “Baseball Falls Short in Game 2 of UCLA Series”, in The Stanford Daily‎:
  Although Stanford was outhit 15-6, the Cardinal stranded eight runners to UCLA's three, hitting just 3-15 with runners on compared to the Bruin's 9-22.
(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.
- 2011, Netmums, Hollie Smith, You and Your Tween: Managing the years from 9 to 13, Hachette, →ISBN:
  It still gets in the way of her doing things like swimming, and she avoids sleepovers when she's 'on'.

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.
turn the televisionon
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).
drive on, rock on
- 2012 May 5, Phil McNulty, “Chelsea 2-1 Liverpool”, in BBC Sport‎:
  He met Luis Suarez's cross at the far post, only for Chelsea keeper Petr Cech to show brilliant reflexes to deflect his header on to the bar. Carroll turned away to lead Liverpool's insistent protests that the ball had crossed the line but referee Phil Dowd and assistant referee Andrew Garratt waved play on, with even a succession of replays proving inconclusive.
In continuation, at length.
and so on
He rambled on and on.
(obsolete in the US) Later.
Ten years on, nothing had changed in the village.
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.

Antonyms

(active, functioning, operating): off
(to an operating state): off
(later): after, afterward/afterwards, later, subsequently, thence

Translations

See on/translations § Adverb.

Preposition

A green pepper on (with its position being the upper surface of) a box

on

Positioned at the upper surface of, touching from above.
A vase of flowers stood on the table.
Please lie down on the couch.
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.
The painting hangs on the wall.
The fruit ripened on the trees.
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.
to play on a violin or piano
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.
The fleet is on the American coast.
Croton-on-Hudson, Rostov-on-Don, Southend-on-Sea
Supported by (the specified part of itself).
A table can't stand on two legs.
After resting on his elbows, he stood on his toes, then walked on his heels.
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.
He wore old shoes on his feet.
(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.
Born on the 4th of July.
Some time during the day of.
On Sunday I'm busy. I'll see you on Monday.
Can I see you on a different day?
At a given time after the start of something; at.
Smith scored again on twelve minutes, doubling Mudchester Rovers' lead.
- 2011 September 24, Aled Williams, “Chelsea 4-1 Swansea”, in BBC Sport:
  The Spain striker had given Chelsea the lead on 29 minutes but was shown a straight red card 10 minutes later for a rash challenge on Mark Gower.
Dealing with the subject of; about; concerning.
I was reading a book on history.
The city hosted the World Summit on the Information Society
I have no opinion on this subject.
- 1869 May, Anthony Trollope, “Lady Milborough as Ambassador”, in He Knew He Was Right, volume I, London: Strahan and Company, […], OCLC 1118026626, page 85:
  [...] I received a note from that gentleman on a most trivial matter. I answered it as trivially.
(informal) In the possession of.
I haven't got any money on me.
Because of, or due to.
to arrest someone on suspicion of bribery
to contact someone on a hunch
Upon; at the time of (and often because of).
On Jack's entry, William got up to leave.
On the addition of ammonia, a chemical reaction begins.
Paid for by.
The drinks are on me tonight, boys.
The meal is on the house.
I paid for the airfare and meals for my family, but the hotel room was on the company.
Indicating a means or medium.
I saw it on television.
Can't you see I'm on the phone?
My favorite shows are on BBC America.
The Beatles' appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show is on YouTube.
The film was released on DVD.
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.
Her words made a lasting impression on my mind.
What will be the effect on morale?
Toward; for; indicating the object of an emotion.
Have pity or compassion on him.
(especially Ireland) Indicating the person experiencing an emotion, cold, thirst, hunger, etc.
- 2013 February 27, Rosemary Sutcliff, The Shining Company, Random House, →ISBN:
  ' […] the hunger is on me to carry my sword in distant places.' Mynyddog bowed his head.
- 2017 January 24, Ruth Gilligan, Nine Folds Make a Paper Swan, Tin House Books, →ISBN:
  “Christ, the thirst on me.” “Sure, it's serious work, all that talk of independence.” The theater's stained-glass doors had first flung open in 1904, all in the hope of “rewriting the Irish identity,” of using culture in the fight […]
- 2017 August 29, Ralph Peters, Judgment at Appomattox: A Novel, Forge Books, →ISBN, page 18:
  “I've got the hunger on me, I do.” Riordan snorted. Hardly a man knew hunger as he did. The prison rations at Point Lookout, spare enough, had been a feast compared to the black years in Ireland. […]
Indicating a means of subsistence.
They lived on ten dollars a week.
The dog survived three weeks on rainwater.
Engaged in or occupied with (an action or activity).
He's on his lunch break.
I'm on nights all this week.
on vacation; on holiday; on the job; on the fiddle
Regularly taking (a drug).
You've been on these antidepressants far too long.
He's acting so strangely, I think he must be on something.
Under the influence of (a drug).
He's acting crazy because he's on crack right now.
(mathematics) Having identical domain and codomain.
a function on
(mathematics) Having ${\\displaystyle V^{n}}$ as domain and V as codomain, for some set V and integer n.
an operator on
(mathematics) Generated by.
the free group on four letters
In addition to; besides; indicating multiplication or succession in a series.
heaps on heaps of food
mischief on mischief; loss on loss
(obsolete, regional) of
- 1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Iulius Cæsar”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act I, scene ii]:
  Be not jealous on me.
- c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act I, scene iii]:
  Or have we eaten on the insane root / That takes the reason prisoner?
Indicating dependence or reliance.
I depended on them for assistance.
He will promise on certain conditions.
(obsolete) At the peril of, or for the safety of.
- a. 1701 (date written), John Dryden, “The First Book of Homer’s Ilias”, in The Miscellaneous Works of John Dryden, […], volume IV, London: […] J[acob] and R[ichard] Tonson, […], published 1760, OCLC 863244003, page 415:
  Hence on thy life: the captive maid is mine; / Whom not for price or pray'rs I will reſign: [...]
Serving as a member of.
He is on the jury; I am on the committee.
By virtue of; with the pledge of.
He affirmed or promised on his word, or on his honour.
To the account or detriment of; denoting imprecation or invocation, or coming to, falling, or resting upon.
On us be all the blame.
A curse on him!
Please don't tell on her and get her in trouble.
He turned on her and has been her enemy ever since.
He went all honest on me, making me listen to his confession.
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], OCLC 964384981, Matthew 27:25:
  His blood be on vs, and on our children.
(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

end-on
follow-on
hands-on
on call, on-call
on-campus
on high
on-prem
on stream, onstream
on time, on-time
on-trade
on-train
painted-on

Related terms

depend (on)
put on airs

Translations

See on/translations § Preposition.

Verb

on (third-person singular simple present ons, present participle oning or onning, simple past and past participle oned or onned)

(Singapore, Philippines, Malaysia, transitive, colloquial) To switch on.
Can you on the light?
Synonym: turn on

Etymology 2

From Old Norse ón, án (“without”), from Proto-Germanic *ēnu, *ēno, *ino (“without”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḗnu (“without”). Cognate with North Frisian on (“without”), Middle Dutch an, on (“without”), Middle Low German āne (“without”), German ohne (“without”), Gothic 𐌹𐌽𐌿 (inu, “without, except”), Ancient Greek ἄνευ (áneu, “without”).

Alternative forms

ohn

Preposition

on

(UK 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.
Most kanji have two kinds of reading, called "on" and "kun".

Related terms

kun

References

on at OneLook Dictionary Search

Anagrams

N.O., NO, No, No., no, no.

Azerbaijani

**Azerbaijani cardinal numbers**
< 9	10	11 >
Cardinal : on Ordinal : onuncu

Etymology

From Proto-Turkic *ōn (“ten”).[1] Cognate with Old Turkic [Term?] (/on/, “ten”).

Pronunciation

Audio (file)

Numeral

Other scripts
Cyrillic		он
Perso-Arabic

on

ten

References

Starostin, Sergei; Dybo, Anna; Mudrak, Oleg (2003), “*ōn”, in Etymological dictionary of the Altaic languages (Handbuch der Orientalistik; VIII.8), Leiden, New York, Köln: E.J. Brill

Basque

Etymology

From Proto-Basque *bon.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /on/, [õ̞n]

Adjective

on (comparative hobe, superlative onen or hoberen, excessive onegi)

good
useful, convenient

Declension

Declension of on (adjective, ending in consonant)
		indefinite	singular	plural
absolutive		on	ona	onak
ergative		onek	onak	onek
dative		oni	onari	onei
genitive		onen	onaren	onen
comitative		onekin	onarekin	onekin
causative		onengatik	onarengatik	onengatik
benefactive		onentzat	onarentzat	onentzat
instrumental		onez	onaz	onez
inessive	anim.	onengan	onarengan	onengan
inessive	inanim.	onetan	onean	onetan
locative	anim.	—	—	—
locative	inanim.	onetako	oneko	onetako
allative	anim.	onengana	onarengana	onengana
allative	inanim.	onetara	onera	onetara
terminative	anim.	onenganaino	onarenganaino	onenganaino
terminative	inanim.	onetaraino	oneraino	onetaraino
directive	anim.	onenganantz	onarenganantz	onenganantz
directive	inanim.	onetarantz	onerantz	onetarantz
destinative	anim.	onenganako	onarenganako	onenganako
destinative	inanim.	onetarako	onerako	onetarako
ablative	anim.	onengandik	onarengandik	onengandik
ablative	inanim.	onetatik	onetik	onetatik
partitive		onik	—	—
prolative		ontzat	—	—

Catalan

Alternative forms

ahont, hon, hont (archaic)
ont

Etymology

From Old Catalan on (“whence”), from Latin unde (“whence”). Compare Occitan ont, Old French ont (French dont), Spanish onde.

Pronunciation

(Balearic, Central, Valencian) IPA^(key): /ˈon/
Audio (file)

Adverb

on

where

References

“on” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
“on”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2023
“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 German indi, whence the variant en. In parts of the Eifel, this indi regularly becomes on (compare Luxembourgish an). 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 German und.

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

on m (plural en)

lamb

Crimean Tatar

Numeral

on

ten

Czech

Etymology

From Old Czech on, from Proto-Slavic *onъ, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ónos.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ˈon]
audio (file)
Rhymes: -on

Pronoun

on m

he (third person personal singular)

Declension

Declension of on

	singular	plural
nominative	on	oni (animate) ony (inanimate)
genitive	ho (clitic) jej/něj jeho/něho	jich/nich
dative	jemu/němu mu (clitic)	jim/nim
accusative	jeho/něho ho (clitic) jej/něj	je/ně
vocative	—	—
locative	něm	nich
instrumental	jím/ním	jimi/nimi

Related terms

Czech personal pronouns

		singular	plural
1st person		já	my
2nd person	familiar	ty	vy
2nd person	polite	vy	vy
3rd person	m	on	oni
	f	ona	ony
	n	ono	ona
reflexive		sebe, se (clitic)

Dutch

Adverb

on

rarely used as shorthand for oneven (odd), the prefix on- means not (corresponds to English un-)

Estonian

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈon/, [ˈon]
Rhymes: -on
Hyphenation: on

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^(key): on

Verb

on

third-person singular indicative present of olla
Seon tuolla.
It is there.
Se on ollut tuolla.
It has been there.

Anagrams

no

French

Alternative forms

l'on (formal)

Etymology

From Old French hom, om (nominative form), from Latin homō (“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 English man (“one, they, people”), reduced form of Old English mann (“person”); Catalan hom; German man (“one, they, people”); Dutch men (“one, they, people”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ɔ̃/, (before a vowel) /ɔ.n‿/
audio (file)
Homophone: ont

Pronoun

on

(indefinite) one, people, you, someone (an unspecified individual)
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…
On ne peut pas pêcher ici ― You can’t fish here
(personal, informal) we
Synonym: nous(in some contexts)
- 2021, Zaz, Tout là-haut
  On oublie nos certitudes
  We forget our certainties
On s’est amusés. ― We had fun.

Usage notes

In informal and standard conversational French, on has almost completely replaced the pronoun nous (“we”) to indicate that a sentence or clause has a first-person plural as its subject. However, nous is still favored in formal writing and speech, and is still used colloquially as a disjunctive reinforcing nominative on, as well as to indicate direct and indirect objects. It may be used for reflexive objects, but as this is potentially ambiguous, these are also indicated with the reflexive pronoun se — especially with reinforcement from disjunctive nous, which clarifies that the speaker means "we" and not "one," i.e. a generalized indefinite subject. This clarification can also be achieved by the use of tous.
On est toujours là. ― We're still here.
Nous, on s'y fait. ― We get used to it.
On connait tous la chanson qu'elle chante. ― We all know which song she is singing.
Nous, on l'a tous vu. ― We all saw it.
The verb is always conjugated in the third-person singular, but if the pronoun refers to a first-person plural, the attribute agrees in gender and number.
On est venu ici. ― One came here.
On y est allés / allées. ― We went there.
On est prêts / prêtes. ― We are ready.
The variant l'on is used in more formal or literary contexts. Some use it especially after que (que l'on) to avoid the contraction qu'on, which is homophonous with the vulgar word con.

Related terms

French personal pronouns

Number	Person	Gender	Nominative (subject)	Accusative (direct complement)	Dative (indirect complement)	Locative (at)	Genitive (of)	Disjunctive (tonic)
Singular	First	—	je, j’	me, m’		—	—	moi
	Second	—	tu	te, t’		—	—	toi
	Third	Masculine	il	le, l’	lui	y	en	lui
		Feminine	elle	la, l’	lui	y	en	elle
		Indeterminate	on¹	—	—	—	—	—
		Reflexive	—	se, s’⁴		—	—	soi⁴
Plural	First	—	nous	nous		—	—	nous
	Second	—	vous²	vous²^,3		—	—	vous²
	Third	Masculine	ils³	les	leur	y	en	eux³
	Third	Feminine	elles	les	leur	y	en	elles

¹ Also used as the first person plural.

² Also used as the polite singular form.

³ Also used when a group has both men and women.

⁴ Also used as third person plural reflexive.

Descendants

→ Esperanto: oni
- → Ido: onu
→ Interlingue: on

Anagrams

NO, nô

German Low German

Conjunction

on

(in several dialects, including Low Prussian) Alternative form of un (and)
Melk on Brot
milk and bread

Guerrero Nahuatl

Noun

on

the

Ido

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /on/, /ɔn/

Pronoun

on

Apocopic form of onu; one, someone, they (indefinite personal pronoun)

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 English on, from Proto-West Germanic *an, 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
Yola: an, on, a; ana

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.

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)

Verb

on

(Early Middle English) first/third-person singular present of unnen

Noun

on (uncountable)

Alternative form of wone (“course”)

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

Occitan

Alternative forms

ond

Pronunciation

Audio (Gascon) (file)

Adverb

on

(Gascony) where

References

Patric Guilhemjoan, Diccionari elementari occitan-francés francés-occitan (gascon), 2005, Orthez, per noste, 2005, →ISBN, page 99.

Old Czech

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *onъ, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ónos.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /on/

Pronoun

on (third person)

he

Declension

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	on (jen)	ona (jě/ně)	oni (ji)
genitive	jeho/něho, jho/ňho, jeh/ho	jú/ňú, jejú	jich/nich, jejich
dative	jemu/němu, jmu, mu	jima/nima	jim/nim
accusative	-ň, ji/ni, jen/něn, jej/něj, jeho/něho, jho/ňho, jeh, ho	jě/ně	jě/ně
vocative	—	—	—
locative	jem/něm	jú/ňú, jejú	jich/nich
instrumental	jím/ním	jima/nima	jimi/nimi

Descendants

Czech: on

Old English

Alternative forms

an

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *ana.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /on/

Preposition

on

on, in, at, among [+dative or instrumental]

On þæm huse

In the house

on, during [+accusative]

On midne winter

In mid-winter

Adverb

on

(with verbs of taking or depriving) from

Descendants

Middle English: an, on, one, onne, hon, ane; an; æn; one, onne, an
- English: on
- Scots: an, on
- Yola: an, on, a; ana

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-West Germanic *an, from Proto-Germanic *an (“on”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂en- (“up”). Cognates include Old English on, Old Saxon ana and Old Dutch ana.

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

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *onъ, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ónos.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ɔn/
Audio (file)
Rhymes: -ɔn
Syllabification: on

Pronoun

on (plural: masculine personal oni, all others one)

he (for animate nouns), it (for inanimate nouns)

Declension

Declension of on

	singular
nominative	on
genitive	jego/go/niego
dative	jemu/mu/niemu
accusative	jego/go/niego
instrumental	nim
locative	nim
vocative	—

Related terms

ona
one
oni
ono
onu
ony

Pronoun

on m

(dated) this (demonstrative)

Declension

Declension of on

case	singular				plural
case	masculine personal/animate	masculine inanimate	neuter	feminine	virile	nonvirile
nominative, vocative	on		ono	ona	oni	one
genitive	onego			onej	onych
dative	onemu			onej	onym
accusative	onego	on	ono	oną	onych	one
instrumental	onym			oną	onymi
locative	onym			onej	onych

Romani

Alternative forms

jon, jone

Pronoun

on

they[1][2][3]

Descendants

Kalo Finnish Romani: joon
Vlax Romani: von

References

Boretzky, Norbert; Igla, Birgit (1994), “on”, in Wörterbuch Romani-Deutsch-Englisch für den südosteuropäischen Raum : mit einer Grammatik der Dialektvarianten [Romani-German-English dictionary for the Southern European region] (in German), Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, →ISBN, page 201a
Marcel Courthiade (2009), “on B-ćham: len”, in Melinda Rézműves, editor, Morri angluni rromane ćhibǎqi evroputni lavustik = Első rromani nyelvű európai szótáram : cigány, magyar, angol, francia, spanyol, német, ukrán, román, horvát, szlovák, görög [My First European-Romani Dictionary: Romani, Hungarian, English, French, Spanish, German, Ukrainian, Romanian, Croatian, Slovak, Greek] (in Hungarian; English), Budapest: Fővárosi Onkormányzat Cigány Ház--Romano Kher, →ISBN, page 260b
Yaron Matras; Anton Tenser, editors (2020), “Romani and Contact Linguistics”, in The Palgrave Handbook of Romani Language and Linguistics, DOI:10.1007/978-3-030-28105-2_11, →ISBN, page 341

Romansch

Alternative forms

(Rumantsch Grischun, Sursilvan, Surmiran) onn
(Puter) an

Etymology

From Latin annus.

Noun

on m (plural ons)

(Sutsilvan, Vallader) year

Salar

Etymology

From Proto-Turkic *ōn.

Numeral

on (3rd person possessive [[{{{1}}}#Salar|{{{1}}}]], plural [[{{{2}}}#Salar|{{{2}}}]])

ten

Sedang

Etymology

From Proto-Bahnaric *ʔuɲ. Cognate with Bahnar ŭnh and Hre ùnh.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ʔɔn/

Noun

on

fire

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *onъ, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ónos.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ôːn/

Pronoun

ȏn (Cyrillic spelling о̑н)

he

Declension

Inflection of 3rd-person pronouns

	Singular			Plural
	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
nominative	ȏn	òna	òno	òni	òne	òna
genitive	njȅga, ga	njȇ, je	njȅga, ga	njȋh, ih	njȋh, ih	njȋh, ih
dative	njȅmu, mu	njȏj, joj	njȅmu, mu	njȉma, im	njȉma, im	njȉma, im
accusative	njȅga, ga, nj	njȗ, ju, je	njȅga, ga, nj	njȋh, ih	njȋh, ih	njȋh, ih
vocative	—	—	—	—	—	—
locative	njȅm, njȅmu	njȏj	njȅm, njȅmu	njȉma	njȉma	njȉma
instrumental	njȋm, njíme	njȏm, njóme	njȋm, njíme	njȉma	njȉma	njȉma

Slovak

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *onъ, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ónos; 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

Declension of on

	singular	plural
nominative	on	oni, ony
genitive	ho, jeho, neho	ich, nich
dative	mu, jemu, nemu	im, nim
accusative	ho, jeho, neho	ich, nich, ne
locative	ňom	nich
instrumental	ním	nimi

Slovene

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *onъ, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ónos.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ɔ́n/

Pronoun

ȍn

he

Inflection

Forms between parentheses indicate clitic forms; the main forms are used for emphasis.

Declension of on (irregular, suppletive)

singular
	masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	òn	ôna	ôno
accusative	njêga (ga, -nj)	njó (jo, -njo)	njêga (ga, -nj)
genitive	njêga (ga)	njé (je)	njêga (ga)
dative	njêmu (mu)	njéj, njèj, njì (ji)	njêmu (mu)
locative	njêm	njéj, njèj, njì	njêm
instrumental	njím	njó	njím

possessive	njegôv, njegòv	njén	njegôv, njegòv
dual
	masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	ônadva	ônidve, onédve	ônidve, onédve
accusative	njíju (ju, -nju) or plural	njíju (ju, -nju) or plural	njíju (ju, -nju) or plural
genitive	njíju (ju) or plural	njíju (ju) or plural	njíju (ju) or plural
dative	njíma (jima)	njíma (jima)	njíma (jima)
locative	njíju or plural	njíju or plural	njíju or plural
instrumental	njíma	njíma	njíma

possessive	njún	njún	njún
plural
	masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	ôni	ône	ôna
accusative	njìh (jih, -nje)	njìh (jih, -nje)	njìh (jih, -nje)
genitive	njìh (jih)	njìh (jih)	njìh (jih)
dative	njìm (jim)	njìm (jim)	njìm (jim)
locative	njìh	njìh	njìh
instrumental	njími	njími	njími

possessive	njíhov	njíhov	njíhov

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)‎ (in Spanish), electronic edition, Instituto Lingüístico de Verano, A.C., page 140

Swedish

Noun

on

indefinite plural of o.

Anagrams

NO, no.

Turkish

**Turkish cardinal numbers**
< 9	10	11 >
Cardinal : on Ordinal : onuncu Distributive : onar
Turkish Wikipedia article on on

Etymology

From Ottoman Turkish اون‎ (on), from Proto-Turkic *ōn (“ten”). Compare Old Turkic 𐰆𐰣‎ (un¹ /on/, “ten”).

Numeral

on

ten

Declension

Inflection
Nominative	on
Definite accusative	onu
	Singular	Plural
Nominative	on	onlar
Definite accusative	onu	onları
Dative	ona	onlara
Locative	onda	onlarda
Ablative	ondan	onlardan
Genitive	onun	onların

Turkmen

Etymology

From Old Turkic 𐰆𐰣‎ (un¹ /on/, “ten”), from Proto-Turkic *ōn (“ten”).

Numeral

on

ten

Venetian

Article

on m sg

a, an

Usage notes

Variant of un

Volapük

Etymology

Borrowed from French on.

Pronoun

on

it
(obsolete, indefinite personal pronoun) one

Declension

declension of on

	singular	plural
nominative	on	ons
genitive	ona	onas
dative	one	ones
accusative	oni	onis

Votic

Pronunciation

(Luuditsa, Liivtšülä) IPA^(key): /ˈon/, [ˈon]
Rhymes: -on
Hyphenation: on

Verb

on

third-person singular indicative present of õllõ

Walloon

Alternative forms

onk

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ɔ̃/

Numeral

on

one

Yola

Preposition

on

Alternative form of an
- 1867, “THE WEDDEEN O BALLYMORE”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 1:
  An a priesth o' parieshe on his lhaung-tyel garraane.
  And the priest of the parish on his long tail pony.

References

Jacob Poole (1867), William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, page 94

[1] Starostin, Sergei; Dybo, Anna; Mudrak, Oleg (2003), “*ōn”, in Etymological dictionary of the Altaic languages (Handbuch der Orientalistik; VIII.8), Leiden, New York, Köln: E.J. Brill

[2] Boretzky, Norbert; Igla, Birgit (1994), “on”, in Wörterbuch Romani-Deutsch-Englisch für den südosteuropäischen Raum : mit einer Grammatik der Dialektvarianten [Romani-German-English dictionary for the Southern European region] (in German), Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, →ISBN, page 201a

[3] Marcel Courthiade (2009), “on B-ćham: len”, in Melinda Rézműves, editor, Morri angluni rromane ćhibǎqi evroputni lavustik = Első rromani nyelvű európai szótáram : cigány, magyar, angol, francia, spanyol, német, ukrán, román, horvát, szlovák, görög [My First European-Romani Dictionary: Romani, Hungarian, English, French, Spanish, German, Ukrainian, Romanian, Croatian, Slovak, Greek] (in Hungarian; English), Budapest: Fővárosi Onkormányzat Cigány Ház--Romano Kher, →ISBN, page 260b

[4] Yaron Matras; Anton Tenser, editors (2020), “Romani and Contact Linguistics”, in The Palgrave Handbook of Romani Language and Linguistics, DOI:10.1007/978-3-030-28105-2_11, →ISBN, page 341

on

English

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Adjective

Synonyms

Translations

Adverb

Antonyms

Translations

Preposition

Synonyms

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Verb

Etymology 2

Alternative forms

Preposition

Usage notes

Etymology 3

Noun

Related terms

See also

References

Anagrams

Azerbaijani

Etymology

Pronunciation

Numeral

References

Basque

Etymology

Pronunciation

Adjective

Declension

Further reading

Catalan

Alternative forms

Etymology

Pronunciation

Adverb

References

Central Franconian

Alternative forms

Etymology

Pronunciation

Conjunction

Classical Nahuatl

Pronoun

Related terms

References

Cornish

Alternative forms

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Crimean Tatar

Numeral

Czech

Etymology

Pronunciation

Pronoun

Declension

Related terms

Further reading

Dutch

Adverb

Estonian

Pronunciation

Verb

Finnish

Pronunciation

Verb

Anagrams

French

Alternative forms

Etymology

Pronunciation

Pronoun