Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adverb At another time; later.
  • adverb In a short time; soon.
  • adverb Archaic At once; forthwith.
  • idiom (ever/now) Time after time; now and then.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • In one and the same direction; straight on.
  • Straightway; forthwith; on the instant; immediately.
  • Hence, like other words of the same literal meaning, passing into Quickly; soon; in a short time; by and by.
  • At another time; again; now again.
  • As a response, same as anan.
  • An abbreviation of anonymous.
  • noun An abbreviation of anonymous and anonymously.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adverb obsolete Straightway; at once.
  • adverb Soon; in a little while.
  • adverb At another time; then; again.
  • adverb [Obs.] at once; right off.
  • adverb now and then; frequently; often.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun An anonymous person, especially an author
  • noun A work with an unknown author
  • noun A work without a title
  • adjective anonymous
  • adverb archaic Straightway; at once.
  • adverb Soon; in a little while.
  • adverb At another time; then; again.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective having no known name or identity or known source
  • adverb at another time
  • adverb (old-fashioned or informal) in a little while

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, at once, from Old English on ān : on, in; see on + ān, one; see oi-no- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From anonymous, by shortening

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Old English anoon, anon, anan, lit., in one (moment), from on in + an one. See on and one.

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Examples

Comments

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  • Who keeps adding this one?

    February 17, 2008

  • The season rubs me wrong

    The summer swells anon

    So knock me down, tear me up

    But I would bear it all broken just to fill my cup

    Down by the water and down by the old main drag.

    (Down by the water, by The Decemberists)

    January 19, 2011

  • Quite an autoantonym or contranym

    September 17, 2011