Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- prep. Regarding; concerning: "This question remains a vital consideration anent the debate over the possibility of limiting nuclear war to military objectives” ( New York Times).
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- In a line with; side by side with; on a level with.
- In front of; fronting; before; opposite; over against.
- Against; toward.
- In respect of or regard to; as to; concerning; about: sometimes with as.
- On the other side; in an opposite place or situation.
Wiktionary
- prep. Concerning, with regard to, about, in respect to, as to, insofar as, inasmuch as
- prep. obsolete In the opinion or judgment of
- prep. obsolete Against, in front of, fronting; before; opposite; over against, on the other side
- prep. obsolete In a line with; side by side with; on a level with.
Etymologies
- From Middle English anent ("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"), anen, from Old English on emn, on efen ("level with, beside", literally "on even"); compare German neben. (Wiktionary)
- Middle English, from Old English onefn, near : on, on; see on + efn, even. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“Though I cannot admire his style, I admire the man who wrote to me, Re Tennysonyour remarks anent his In Memoriam make me sick: for though re is not a preposition of the first water, and anent has enjoyed its day, the finish crowned the work.”
“She pursued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the Frank asked Nur al-Din anent the maker of the kerchief, he answered, saying, “In very sooth this kerchief is the handiwork of my mother, who made it for me with her own hand.””
“It meant twice the usual number of inside telephone calls anent rooms too hot, rooms too cold, radiators hammering, radiators hissing, windows that refused to open, windows that refused to shut, packages undelivered, hot water not forthcoming.”
“Al. Fairbrother, editor of Everything, campions the word anent, and says it is a smooth and juicy word.”
“Who persuaded the Tsar to break his word anent Port Arthur?”
“` ` Friend Ranald, '' answered Dalgetty, ` ` I have read of these boons in silly story-books, whereby simple knights were drawn into engagements to their great prejudice; Therefore, Ranald, the more prudent knights of this day never promise anything until they know that they may keep their word anent the premises, without any displeasure or incommodement to themselves.”
“Heggins, for a couple of bottles of Deacon Jaffrey's best brown stout, asking if he could pawn his word anent its being genuine, as it was for a gentleman in delicate health.”
“The Lexicographic Irregulars—from Olbom On Language’s Board of Octogenarian Mentors to the English teachers compelled to begin with the word anent—are my sources of inspiration and information.”
“But it was weel on for five years since I had singled her out; and though I never said a word anent the subject o 'matrimony, yet I had reason to think she had a shrewd guess that my heart louped quicker when she opened her lips than if a regiment o' infantry had stealed behint me unobserved, and fired their muskets ower my shouther; and I sometimes thought that her een looked as if she wished to say, 'Are ye no gaun to ask me, David?”
““Friend Ranald,” answered Dalgetty, “I have read of these boons in silly story-books, whereby simple knights were drawn into engagements to their great prejudice; wherefore, Ranald, the more prudent knights of this day never promise anything until they know that they may keep their word anent the premises, without any displeasure or incommodement to themselves.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘anent’.
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Anglish
Words that can replace Latinates.
frosent, gainsay, fremd, inrush, frain, huru, wordbook, wordstock, byspel, elfshine, infaru, glam and 98 more...
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Rare Words - A
Not just rare words, but thousands of RARE WORDS WITH DEFINITIONS.
If you want to see the definitions, too, go to
http://phrontistery.i...aba, abacinate, abactor, abaculus, abaft, abampere, abapical, abarticular, abasement, abasia, abask, abatis and 1214 more...
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A Sequel to 250 Spelling Words
Words to quiz the intermediate and advanced speller alike
sinopia, replevin, lathee, hoisin, kerygma, czardas, amoxicillin, talipes, simoleon, hypermnesia, anodyne, mystique and 238 more...
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phrontistery - a
from phrontistery.info
axilla, avalement, argil, argent, argand, arete, aretaics, areometer, areology, arenoid, arenaceous, arefy and 1214 more...
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Anglo-Saxon/Old English
Anglo-Saxon rootwords
mote, huru, byspel, elfshine, infaru, snotor, dern, upspring, meed, lof, queem, hof and 83 more...
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Words of the day
The list of Wordnik words of the day.
panurgic, chapfallen, billingsgate, latration, witticaster, slitheroo, rux, crotchet, mirliton, arenose, ruelle, jane-of-apes and 76 more...
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Just 'cause I like 'em, A
abaculus, abacus, abaft, abarticular, abbreviate, abeyance, abiding, anthocyanin, antemeridian, arcane, adjure, adduce and 418 more...
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Good Words
fenestering, cetic, immanent, quickening, archetypal, shibboleth, soma, wetware, heritable, Apotheosis, halcyon, cellar door and 482 more...
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A Provincial Glossary, 1787
A list of provincial English words that appear in Francis Grose's A Provincial Glossary, with a Collection of Local Proverbs and Popular Superstitions. London, MDCCLXXXVII. Printed for S. Hooper, N...
tharky, velling, cadma, whinnock, caingel, giglet, gill-houter, leasing, leech-way, dellfin, underwood, dilvered and 193 more...
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vocabulary
verisimilitude, pendulate, moxie, whimper, nary, stevedore, hubris, prodigious, super-injunction, injunction, lashings, fennel and 202 more...
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azd's Words
adamantine, abatial, ablate, ablative, abrogate, accretive, acromegaly, acrostic, actinism, actinic, acuity, adduce and 968 more...
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ADW1
obdurate, obstinate, behest, injunction, enjoin, circumspect, ensconce, discursive, lugubrious, doleful, somber, ken and 2476 more...
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traipsin' 'long through dis 'ear book...
Words which are either entirely new to me or;
Words which I comprehend generally but would prefer a more precise definition.
venality, seigneurial, mendicant, perforce, manse, glebe, trenchant, saw, obstreperous, profligate, dissipation, galliard and 176 more...
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Archaic
Because they just don't make 'em like they used to.
comeling, circuition, assentment, advisement, accompts, apertness, larum, soothfastness, deperdition, marish, covin, tinct and 166 more...
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Wordnik Notebooks
All the words from the cover of the Wordnik notebook.
A few words appear twice: frass, cruet, luna, thalweg, and possibly some more.
Careful: Contains spoilers!spilth, frass, fomite, rux, worricow, alizarin, mundungus, parthenocarpy, jib, whinyard, weisure, nimiety and 217 more...
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Lolita
Words to remember from Nabokov's "Lolita"
lurid, limned, concordance, puerility, variorum, perspicacious, exigency, acrostic, solipsism, mnemosyne, involution, fatidic and 227 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for anent.

madmouth ...
an host of overjoyed
noncoms(first knocking on the head
him)do through icy waters roll
that helplessness which others stroke
with brushes recently employed
anent this muddy toilet bowl,
while kindred intellects evoke
allegiance per blunt instruments
...
-e.e. cummings May 3, 2011
blafferty I tried to start at the Ws, sorry if I missed any.
I used this list May 3, 2011
blafferty Me too! May 3, 2011
john I'll play--I love tagging projects.
'English preposition' might be gilding the lily, since Wordnik is monolingual.
update: cheatsheet. I'm doing the As & Bs right now. May 3, 2011
Prolagus I used preposition... then I think one can go and look it up to make sure it is for reals. May 3, 2011
blafferty What tag are you going to use? English preposition? May 3, 2011
Prolagus Can anybody help me tag all English prepositions? May 3, 2011
Prolagus What ruzuzu said on your profile, electriccounterpoint: great comment. May 3, 2011
electriccounterpoint My seventh grade English teacher told us that the English language held precisely forty-five prepositions, and she made us learn them all. I'm sure "anent" wasn't on her list — encountering a new preposition feels only slightly lower on the scale of cognitive dissonance than encountering a new primary color. Oct 12, 2008
slumry a preposition that means in regard to or concerning Aug 1, 2007