Obs. A form apparently occurring occasionally before a consonant for an = and, if. In some cases, if not all, the correct MS. reading may be ā, compendium for an.
1. = And.
c. 1280. Fall & Passion, in E. E. Poems (1862), 13. Seue daies a seue niȝt . vte of heuen hi aliȝt … an in to hellë wer iþrow.
c. 1400. Apol. for Lollards, 56. He þat lettiþ not silk ȝeuing, wen he is holden a may, is strenid by þe same gilt.
c. 1450. Morte Arth. (Roxb. Cl.), 91. Wendyth home a leue youre werryeng.
2. = And, an’, if.
c. 1450. Morte Arth. (Roxb. Cl.), 91. And yit a thow woldyst nyghe me nye, Thow shalt wele wete I am not slayn.
