on

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Contents

English [edit]

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Pronunciation [edit]

Etymology 1 [edit]

From Middle English on, from Old English on, an (on, upon, onto, in, into), from Proto-Germanic *ana (on, at), from Proto-Indo-European *ano-, *nō- (on). Cognate with North Frisian a (on, in), 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 (ana, up, upon), Albanian  (in); and from the Old Norse combination upp á: Danish , Swedish , Norwegian , see upon.

Adjective [edit]

on (not comparable)

  1. In the state of being active, functioning or operating.
  2. Performing according to schedule.
    Are we still on for tonight?
    Is the show still on?
  3. (UK, informal) Acceptable, appropriate.
    right on; bang on; not on
  4. (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.
  5. (baseball, informal) Having reached a base as a runner and being positioned there, awaiting further action from a subsequent batter.
Synonyms [edit]
  • (baseball: positioned at a base): on base (not informal)
Translations [edit]

Adverb [edit]

on (not comparable)

  1. To an operating state.
    turn the television on
  2. Along, forwards (continuing an action).
    drive on, rock on
    • 2012 May 5, Phil McNulty, “Chelsea 2-1 Liverpool”, 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.
  3. In continuation, at length.
    and so on.
    He rambled on and on.
  4. (cricket) In, or towards the half of the field on the same side as the batsman's legs; the left side for a right-handed batsman; leg.
  5. (not US) Later.
    Ten years on nothing had changed in the village.
Antonyms [edit]
Translations [edit]

Preposition [edit]

A green pepper on (positioned on the upper surface of) a box

on

  1. Positioned at the upper surface of, touching from above.
    on the table; on the couch
  2. Covering.
    He wore old shoes on his feet.
  3. At the date of.
    Born on the 4th of July.
  4. Some time during the day of.
    I'll see you on Monday.
    The bus leaves on Friday.
    Can I see you on a different day? On Sunday I'm busy.
  5. Dealing with the subject of, about, or concerning something.
    A book on history.
    The World Summit on the Information Society.
  6. Touching; hanging from.
    The fruit ripened on the trees.
    The painting hangs on the wall.
  7. (informal) In the possession of.
    I haven't got any money on me.
  8. Because of, or due to.
    To arrest someone on suspicion of bribery.
    To contact someone on a hunch.
  9. Immediately after.
    On Jack's entry, William got up to leave.
  10. 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.
  11. Used to indicate a means or medium.
    I saw it on television.
    Can't you see I'm on the phone?
  12. Indicating a means of subsistence.
    They lived on ten dollars a week.
    The dog survived three weeks on rainwater.
  13. Away or occupied with (e.g. a scheduled activity).
    He's on his lunch break.
    on vacation
    on holiday
  14. 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.
  15. (mathematics) Having identical domain and codomain.
    a function on V
  16. (mathematics) Having V^n as domain and V as codomain, for some set V and integer n.
    an operator on V
  17. (mathematics) Generated by.
    the free group on four letters
  18. 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.
  19. At a given time after the start of something; at.
    • 2011 September 24, Aled Williams, “Chelsea 4 - 1 Swansea”, 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.
Derived terms [edit]
Translations [edit]
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Etymology 2 [edit]

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

Alternative forms [edit]

Preposition [edit]

on

  1. (UK dialectal, Scotland) Without.
Usage notes [edit]
  • Usually followed by a perfect participle, as being, having, etc.

Statistics [edit]

Anagrams [edit]


Catalan [edit]

Pronunciation [edit]

Etymology [edit]

From Latin unde.

Adverb [edit]

on

  1. where

Cornish [edit]

Alternative forms [edit]

Etymology [edit]

From Proto-Celtic *ognos, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂egʷʰno- (lamb).

Pronunciation [edit]

Noun [edit]

on m (plural en)

  1. lamb

Crimean Tatar [edit]

Cardinal numeral [edit]

on

  1. (cardinal) ten

Czech [edit]

Etymology [edit]

From Proto-Slavic *onъ, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eno-

Pronunciation [edit]

Pronoun [edit]

on m

  1. he (third person personal singular)

Declension [edit]

Related terms [edit]

See also [edit]


Dutch [edit]

Adverb [edit]

on

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


Dutch Low Saxon [edit]

Etymology [edit]

Ultimately cognate to German und.

Conjunction [edit]

on

  1. and
    woater on melk
    water and milk

Estonian [edit]

Pronunciation [edit]

Verb [edit]

on

  1. Third-person singular present form of olema.
    See on seal.
    It is there.
    See on seal olnud.
    It has been there.
  2. Third-person plural present form of olema.

Finnish [edit]

Etymology [edit]

inflected form of olla

Pronunciation [edit]

  • IPA: [on]
  • Hyphenation: on

Verb [edit]

on

  1. Third-person singular indicative present form of olla.
    Se on tuolla.
    It is there.
    Se on ollut tuolla.
    It has been there.

Anagrams [edit]


French [edit]

Etymology [edit]

From Old French hom, reduced form of Old French homme (man) used as a pronoun, from Latin hominem, accusative form of homō (man). Its pronominal use is of Germanic origin. Compare Old English man (one, they, people), reduced form of Old English mann (man, person); German man (one, they, people); Dutch men (one, they, people).

Pronunciation [edit]

Pronoun [edit]

on

  1. One, people, you, someone (an unspecified individual: indefinite personal pronoun).
    • 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
  2. (informal) We.
    On s'est amusé
    We had fun

Synonyms [edit]

Related terms [edit]

Anagrams [edit]


German Low German [edit]

Etymology [edit]

Ultimately cognate to German und.

Conjunction [edit]

on

  1. (in several dialects, including Low Prussian, coordinating) and
    (Low Prussian) Melk on Brot
    milk and bread

Ido [edit]

Pronoun [edit]

on

  1. one, people, someone

Japanese [edit]

Romanization [edit]

on

  1. See おん

Middle English [edit]

Preposition [edit]

on

  1. in; on

Old English [edit]

Etymology [edit]

Proto-Germanic *ana

Preposition [edit]

on

  1. on, in, at, among

Adverb [edit]

on

  1. (with verbs of taking or depriving) from

Polish [edit]

Etymology [edit]

From Proto-Slavic *onъ, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eno-

Pronunciation [edit]

Pronoun [edit]

on (plural: personal only oni, all other one)

  1. he for animate, it for inanimate (third person, m sg).

Declension [edit]

Related terms [edit]

Pronoun [edit]

on m

  1. (obsolete) this (demonstrative)

Declension [edit]

See also [edit]


Romansch [edit]

Alternative forms [edit]

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

Etymology [edit]

From Latin annus.

Noun [edit]

on m (plural ons)

  1. (Sutsilvan, Vallader) year

Serbo-Croatian [edit]

Etymology [edit]

From Proto-Slavic *onъ, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eno-

Pronunciation [edit]

Pronoun [edit]

ȏn (Cyrillic spelling о̑н)

  1. he

Declension [edit]


Slovak [edit]

Etymology [edit]

From Proto-Slavic *onъ, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eno-

Pronoun [edit]

on

  1. he (third-person personal masculine singular pronoun)

Slovene [edit]

Etymology [edit]

From Proto-Slavic *onъ, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eno-

Pronunciation [edit]

Pronoun [edit]

òn

  1. he

Declension [edit]

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

See also [edit]


Swedish [edit]

Noun [edit]

on

  1. indefinite plural of o

Turkish [edit]

Etymology [edit]

From Old Turkic on (“ten”), from Proto-Turkic.

Cardinal numeral [edit]

on (definite accusative onu, plural onlar)

  1. (cardinal) ten

Declension [edit]


Turkmen [edit]

Cardinal numeral [edit]

on

  1. (cardinal) ten

Venetian [edit]

Article [edit]

on m sg

  1. a, an

Usage notes [edit]

  • Variant of un

Volapük [edit]

Etymology [edit]

The original (now obsolete) meaning: from French on.

Pronoun [edit]

on

  1. it
  2. (obsolete, indefinite personal pronoun) one

Declension [edit]


Walloon [edit]

Alternative forms [edit]

Etymology [edit]

EB1911 - Volume 01 - Page 001 - 1.svg This entry lacks etymological information. If you are familiar with the origin of this term, please add it to the page as described here.

Numeral [edit]

on

  1. one