adjective

Etymology: < OE an: see one

noun

1. a ligature used to represent a diphthong in some Latin words, equivalent to ai in Greek, usually written æ or replaced by e in modern spelling of derived English words, as in demon (daemon), ether (aether), etc. and pronounced (ē, i, or e)
2. an Old English ligature representing a low front unrounded vowel like that in Modern English hat
3. a character in the International Phonetic Alphabet and some other transcription systems, representing this low front unrounded vowel

Etymology: L aetatis