Yan
/jæn/noun
A Scots and northern English dialect word meaning “one” or “that one.”
Did you know?“Yan” preserves an old Germanic form related to the ancient root behind “one,” “only,” and “alone”—words built around the power of singularity and separation.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*óynos
“One; a single individual or thing”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*ainaz
“One; a single unit”
Old English
Old English
ān
“One; alone; a single person or object”
Middle English
Middle English
oon / yan
“One; a dialectal form influenced by northern pronunciation”
Modern dialect English
Scots/Northern English
yan
“One, that one, or the other of two”