Anent
prep ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 Concerning, with regard to, about, in respect to, as to, insofar as, inasmuch as, apropos. archaic
"Mr Bloom and Stephen entered the cabman’s shelter, an unpretentious wooden structure, where, prior to then, he had rarely, if ever, been before; the former having previously whispered to the latter a few hints anent the keeper of it […]"
- 2 In the opinion or judgment of. obsolete
- 3 Against, in front of, fronting; before; opposite; over against, on the other side. obsolete
"[…] if Painter did ever abide in the old bark mill said to be anent his brother's freehold."
- 4 In a line with; side by side with; on a level with. obsolete
"ANENT, opposite. Usually "ovver-anent.""
Example
More examples"Mr Bloom and Stephen entered the cabman’s shelter, an unpretentious wooden structure, where, prior to then, he had rarely, if ever, been before; the former having previously whispered to the latter a few hints anent the keeper of it […]"
Etymology
From Middle English anent, anentes, anempt (“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”), from Old English on efn (“by; near”), from on + efn. Compare Dutch neven, German neben.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.