pref. Obs. The prep. AND in comb., Goth. anda-, and-, OHG. ant-, ent-, ‘against, in return, opposite, fronting, toward.’ In OE. the full form (often labialized to ǫnd-) remained only under the stress, i.e., in sbs. and adjs.; as a·nd-git apprehension, a·ndsǽte opposed, hostile, a·ndswaru answer, a·ndweard present. When proclitic, as in vbs., it was weakened to ǫn- as ǫngi·tan to apprehend. The former still remains as an- in answer (see AN- pref. 2); the latter, like ǫn- for an-, afterwards fell to a-, as in along (see A- pref. 4).
