gan

See also: Appendix:Variations of "gan"

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡæn/
• Rhymes: -æn

Etymology 1

Perhaps connected with gane v.; or possibly Welsh geneu, Cornish ganau, mouth.

Alternative forms

• ganns, gans

Noun

gan (uncountable)

1. (obsolete, UK, thieves' cant) Mouth.
   • 1922 , James Joyce, Ulysses, chapter III:^[2]

     White thy fambles, red thy gan

     And thy quarrons dainty is.

     Couch a hogshead with me then.

     In the darkmans clip and kiss.

Etymology 2

See gin

Verb

gan

1. (archaic) simple past of gin

Etymology 2

Probably a variant of gang, from Middle English gangen, from Old English gangan (“to step; walk; go”). More at gang.

Alternative forms

• gang

Verb

gan (third-person singular simple present gans, present participle gannin, simple past went, past participle gone)

1. (obsolete outside Northumbria) To go.

References

• Frank Graham (1987) The New Geordie Dictionary, →ISBN
• Newcastle 1970s, Scott Dobson and Dick Irwin, [3]
• Todd's Geordie Words and Phrases, George Todd, Newcastle, 1977[4]
• A List of words and phrases in everyday use by the natives of Hetton-le-Hole in the County of Durham, F.M.T.Palgrave, English Dialect Society vol.74, 1896, [5]
• Northumberland Words, English Dialect Society, R. Oliver Heslop, 1893–4
• A Dictionary of North East Dialect, Bill Griffiths, 2005, Northumbria University Press, →ISBN

Anagrams

• AGN, ANG, GNA, NGA, nag

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Antillean Creole

Etymology

From French gant.

Noun

gan

1. glove

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Bambara

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ɡã˦]

Verb

gan

1. to jump

References

• 2007. The UCLA Phonetics Lab Archive. Los Angeles, CA: UCLA Department of Linguistics.

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Dutch Low Saxon

Verb

gan

1. Alternative spelling of gaon

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Irish

Etymology

From Old Irish cen (“besides; without”), from Proto-Celtic *kina (“on this side of”); compare Middle Welsh am-gen (“otherwise”), Breton ken (“otherwise”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡən̪ˠ/
• IPA^(key): /ɡɑn̪ˠ/
• IPA^(key): /ɡan̪ˠ/

Preposition

gan (plus nominative, triggers no mutation in specific references but lenition in general references)

1. without
2. not (in conjunction with a verbal noun)

Usage notes

• In standardised Irish, triggers lenition of velar consonants (c, g) and bilabial consonants (p, b, m) on unmodified nouns, e.g. gan phingin (“without a penny”). Does not trigger lenition on modified nouns, e.g. gan pingin ina phóca (“without a penny in his pocket”). In the meaning ‘not’, does not trigger lenition on either a verbal noun or on the direct object of the verbal noun, e.g. gan ceannach ‘not to buy’, gan pingin a shaothrú ‘not to earn a penny’.

• Unlike most Irish prepositions, gan governs the nominative, not the dative, and it does not form prepositional pronouns: gan an t-arán (“without the bread”), gan mé (“without me”).

Derived terms

• gan áireamh (“countless, incalculable”)
• gan aithne gan urlabhra (“comatose; dead”)
• gan amhras (“undoubtedly”)
• gan aon agó (“undoubtedly”)
• gan bhail (“invalid, void”)
• gan bheartú (“unpremeditated”)
• gan bhlas (“flavourless”)
• gan bhogadh (“still, impassive”)
• gan bhréag gan áibhéil (“in plain fact”)
• gan cháim (“flawless”)
• gan choinne (“unexpected(ly)”)
• gan choinníoll (“unconditional(ly)”)
• gan chor (“motionless”)
• gan chuimhneamh (“inadvertently”)
• gan chuimse (“limitless”)
• gan chumas, gan mhaith, gan bhrí (“impotent”)
• gan dícheall (“without fail”)
• gan doic (“unhesitatingly”)
• gan dua (“effortless(ly)”)
• gan dúshraith (“baseless”)
• gan éifeacht (“inefficient”)
• gan éislis (“without fail”)
• gan fáth gan ábhar (“for no reason whatever”)
• gan fheiceáil (“unseen”)
• gan fhios (“unknown; secretly”)
• gan locht (“blameless”)
• gan mhuinchillí (“sleeveless”)
• gan mórán achair (“shortly”)
• gan on (“faultless, unblemished”)

 

Further reading

• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “gan”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “cen”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
• de Bhaldraithe, Tomás (1959) “gan”, in English-Irish Dictionary, An Gúm
• “gan”, in New English-Irish Dictionary, Foras na Gaeilge, 2013-2024

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Japanese

Romanization

gan

1. Rōmaji transcription of がん
2. Rōmaji transcription of ガン

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Kurdish

Verb

1. to have sex with somebody, to fuck somebody

Noun

1. having sex, fucking

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Latvian

Conjunction

gan

1. both, and

Usage notes

Used in pairs: gan jauna, gan skaista "both young and beautiful"

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Mandarin

Romanization

gan

1. Nonstandard spelling of gān.
2. Nonstandard spelling of gán.
3. Nonstandard spelling of gǎn.
4. Nonstandard spelling of gàn.

Usage notes

• Transcriptions of Mandarin into the Latin script often do not distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without indication of tone.

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Middle English

Etymology 1

From Old English ġeġn.

Preposition

gan

1. Alternative form of gain (“against”)

Etymology 2

From Old English gān.

Verb

gan

1. (Early Middle English, Northern) Alternative form of gon (“to go”)

Etymology 3

From Old English gān, ġegān.

Verb

gan

1. Alternative form of gon (“gone”)

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Old Dutch

Etymology

(deprecated template usage)

From Proto-Germanic *gāną, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰeh₁- (“to leave”).

Verb

gān

1. to go

Inflection

Conjugation of gān (irregular, suppletive)

infinitive	gān
indicative	present	past
1st person singular	gā	geng
2nd person singular	gest	gengi
3rd person singular	get	geng
1st person plural	gān	gengun
2nd person plural	gāt	gengut
3rd person plural	gānt	gengun
subjunctive	present	past
1st person singular	gā	gengi
2nd person singular	gās, gāst	gengis, gengist
3rd person singular	gā	gengi
1st person plural	gān	gengin
2nd person plural	gāt	gengit
3rd person plural	gān	gengin
imperative	present
singular	gā
plural	gāt
participle	present	past
	gangandi	gegangon

Derived terms

• anagān
• antgān
• bigān
• fargān

Descendants

• Middle Dutch: gâen
  • Dutch: gaan
    • Afrikaans: gaan
    • Javindo: ha, haat
    • Jersey Dutch: xân, xâne
    • Petjo: gaan, haan
  • Limburgish: gaon

Further reading

• “gān”, in Oudnederlands Woordenboek, 2012

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Old English

Alternative forms

• gangan

Etymology

(deprecated template usage)

From Proto-Germanic *gāną, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰeh₁- (“to leave”). The verb was defective in Germanic and may only have existed in the present tense.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡɑːn/

Verb

gān

1. to go, walk

Conjugation

Conjugation of gān (irregular)

infinitive	gān	gānne
indicative mood	present tense	past tense
first person singular	gā	ēode
second person singular	gǣst	ēodest
third person singular	gǣþ	ēode
plural	gāþ	ēodon
subjunctive	present tense	past tense
singular	gā	ēode
plural	gān	ēoden
imperative
singular	gā
plural	gāþ
participle	present	past
	gānde	(ġe)gān

Derived terms

• begān
• foregān
• forgān
• forþgān
• ingān
• ofergān
• ofgān
• tōgān
• þurhgān
• wiþgān
• ymbgān
• ūpgān
• ūtgān

 

Descendants

• Middle English: gon, gan, ga; goo, goon, go
  • English: go
  • Geordie English: gan
  • Middle Scots: go, goe, gone
    • Scots: gan, gae, ga, gang
  • Yola: goe, gow, go; goeth (influnced by Irish silent -th)

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Old Frisian

Etymology

(deprecated template usage)

From Proto-Germanic *gāną, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰeh₁- (“to leave”).

Verb

gān

1. to go

Inflection

Conjugation of gān (irregular, suppletive)

infinitive	gān
indicative	present	past
1st person singular	gā	geng
2nd person singular	gēst	gengest
3rd person singular	gēth	geng
plural	gāth	gengun
subjunctive	present	past
singular	gāe	genge
plural	gāe, gāen	genge, gengen
imperative	present
singular	gā
plural	gāth
participle	present	past
	gānde, gangande	egangen, gangen

Descendants

• Saterland Frisian: geen (simple past, past participle of gunge)
• West Frisian: gean

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Old Saxon

Alternative forms

• gangan

Etymology

(deprecated template usage)

From Proto-Germanic *gāną, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰeh₁- (“to leave”).

Verb

gān

1. to go

Conjugation

Conjugation of gān (irregular, suppletive)

infinitive	gān
indicative	present	past
1st person singular	*gā	gēng
2nd person singular	*gēs	gēngi
3rd person singular	gēd	gēng
plural	*gād	gēngun
subjunctive	present	past
1st person singular	*gāe	gēngi
2nd person singular	*gāes	gēngis
3rd person singular	*gāe	gēngi
plural	*gāen	gēngin
imperative	present
singular	*gā
plural	*gād
participle	present	past
	gāndi	gigangan, gangan

Descendants

• Middle Low German: gân
  • Dutch Low Saxon: gan, gaon
  • German Low German: gahn
  • Plautdietsch: gone

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Scots

Alternative forms

• gae, ga, gang

Etymology

(deprecated template usage)

From Northern Middle English gan, from Old English gān (“to go”). Past tense supplied by Old English wenden (“to wend”).

Verb

gan (third-person singular simple present gans, present participle gan, simple past went or wett, past participle been)

1. to go

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Scottish Gaelic

Pronoun

gan

1. them (direct object)

   A bheil sibh gan creidsinn? ― Do you believe them?

Usage notes

• Before words beginning with b, f, m or p gam is used instead.

Related terms

Related terms

• ga
• gad
• gam

• gar
• gur
• iad

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Tok Pisin

Etymology

From English gun.

Noun

gan

1. gun

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Turkmen

Etymology

From Proto-Turkic *kiān (“blood”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡaːn/

Noun

gan (definite accusative gany, plural ganlar)

1. blood

Declension

Declension of gan

	singular	plural
nominative	gan	ganlar
accusative	gany	ganlary
genitive	ganyň	ganlaryň
dative	gana	ganlara
locative	ganda	ganlarda
ablative	gandan	ganlardan

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Vietnamese

Etymology

From Proto-Vietic *t-kaːn, from Old Chinese 肝 (OC *kaːn) (SV: can).

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [ɣaːn˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [ɣaːŋ˧˧]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [ɣaːŋ˧˧]

Noun

(classifier lá) gan

1. (anatomy) a liver
2. (figurative) audacity; gall; balls

   to gan

   audacious

   nhát gan / gan thỏ đế

   chicken

Derived terms

Derived terms

• gan béo
• gan dạ
• gan góc
• gan ngỗng béo
• to gan

 

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Volapük

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ɡan]

Noun

gan (nominative plural gans)

1. (male or female) goose

Declension

declension of gan

	singular	plural
nominative	gan	gans
genitive	gana	ganas
dative	gane	ganes
accusative	gani	ganis
vocative 1	o gan!	o gans!
predicative 2	ganu	ganus

• ¹ status as a case is disputed
• ² in later, non-classical Volapük only

Hypernyms

• böd
• nim

Hyponyms

• ganil

Derived terms

Terms derived from gan "goose"

• ganablöt (“breast of goose”)
• ganafoad (“goose liver”)
• ganafoadabastet (“pâté de foie gras, goose liver pâté”)
• ganalecek (“goose-pen, enclosure for geese”)
• ganaleplüm (“goose quill”)

• gananäst (“goose's nest”)
• gananög (“goose's egg”)
• ganapinod (“goose fat”)
• ganapüladil (“goose giblets”)
• ganaskin (“goose skin”)
• ganigaledan (“gooseherd”)
• nifagan (“snow goose”), Chen caerulescens

See also

• barnig (“brant goose, brent goose”), Branta bernicla

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Welsh

Etymology 1

From Proto-Indo-European *ḱm̥-teh₂, from *ḱóm. Cognate with Breton gant and Ancient Greek κατά (katá, “against; downwards”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡan/
  • IPA^(key): /ɡɪn/
• IPA^(key): /ɡan/

Preposition

gan

1. with
2. by (authorship)
3. (North Wales) to indicate possession

   Mae gen i wallt hir.

   I have long hair.

4. used with verbal noun to indicate an action simultaneous with that of the main verb
   • 1993, Gareth King, Modern Welsh: A Comprehensive Grammar, London: Routledge, →ISBN, p. 131:

     Aeth o gwmpas y stafell gan ofyn yr un cwestiwn i bawb.

     He went around the room asking everyone the same question.

Usage notes

See [6] for more information.

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡan/

Adjective

gan

1. Soft mutation of can.

Noun

gan

1. Soft mutation of can.

Mutation

Welsh mutation
radical	soft	nasal	aspirate
can	gan	nghan	chan
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

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Wolof

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

gan (definite form gan gi)

1. stranger
2. guest