anent

English

Etymology

From Middle English anent, anentes, anempt (“insofar as, inasmuch as, in comparison with, with respect to, as regards, concerning, in the opinion or judgment of; next to, close to, up to, near, adjoining, across from, over against, facing”), from Old English on efn (“by; near”), from on +‎ efn. Compare Dutch neven, German neben.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /əˈnɛnt/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛnt

Preposition

anent

1. (now rare) Concerning, with regard to, about, in respect to, as to, insofar as, inasmuch as, apropos.

   Synonyms: apropos, as for; see also Thesaurus:about

   • 1922 February, James Joyce, “[Episode 16]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company, […], →OCLC:

     Mr Bloom and Stephen entered the cabman’s shelter, an unpretentious wooden structure, where, prior to then, he had rarely, if ever, been before; the former having previously whispered to the latter a few hints anent the keeper of it […]

   • 1937, L. Ron Hubbard, letter to Russell Hays, quoted in Literary Correspondence: Letters and Journals, p. 101,

     I have just found out something with which to repay that very kind favor of yours anent the "lift" angle on stories.

   • 1955, Vladimir Nabokov, chapter 11, in Lolita, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: G[eorge] P[almer] Putnam’s Sons, published August 1958, →OCLC, part 1, page 53:

     The wings of the driver's Marlenesque nose shone, having shed or burned up their ration of powder, and she kept up an elegant monologue anent the local traffic, […]

   • 1984, New York Times:

     This question remains a vital consideration anent the debate over the possibility of limiting nuclear war to military objectives, […]

   • 2015, LT Wolf, The World King (fiction), →ISBN:

     The invasion of privacy anent banking and financial activities was mainly an outcome of the income tax and the Drug War

2. (obsolete) In the opinion or judgment of.
3. (obsolete) Against, in front of, fronting; before; opposite; over against, on the other side.
   • 2005, R.T. Smith, “Ina Grove”, in The Virginia Quarterly Review, volume 81, number 4, page 230:

     […] if Painter did ever abide in the old bark mill said to be anent his brother's freehold.

4. (obsolete) In a line with; side by side with; on a level with.
   • 1865, William Stott Banks, Wakefield Words, page 4:

     ANENT, opposite. Usually "ovver-anent."

Derived terms

• thereanent
• whereanent

References

• Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
(See the entry for “anent”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.)

Anagrams

• annet

Scots

Etymology

From Middle English anent, anempt (“insofar as, inasmuch as, in comparison with, with respect to, as regards, concerning, in the opinion or judgment of; next to, close to, up to, near, adjoining, across from, over against, facing”), from Old English onemn (“by; near”); equivalent to modern in + even. Compare Dutch neven, German neben.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [əˈnɛnt]
• (Mid Northern Scots) IPA^(key): [əˈnænt]

Preposition

anent

1. in a line with, on a level with, alongside of
2. before the face of, in the presence of (of persons)
3. fronting, opposite, over against (of position)
4. concerning, about

Derived terms

• foreanent (“over against, opposite to; on the opposite side”)
• hereanent (“concerning”)
• thareanent (“the matter already mentioned, relating to what has been said above”)

Adverb

anent (not comparable)

1. in front, opposite