c. 1600, "pertaining to the Cistercian order of monks," with -an + Medieval Latin Cistercium (French Cîteaux), near Dijon, site of an abbey where the monastic order was founded 1098 by Robert of Molesme. As a noun, "monk of the Cistercian order," from 1610s.
Procopius' 6c. Anecdota, unpublished memoirs of Emperor Justinian full of court gossip, gave the word a sense of "revelation of secrets," which decayed in English to "brief, amusing story" (1761).
indefinite article, form of an used before consonants, mid-12c., a weakened form of Old English an "one" (see an). The disappearance of the -n- before consonants was mostly complete by mid-14c. After c. 1600 the -n- also began to vanish before words beginning with a sounded -h-; it still is retained by many writers before unaccented syllables in h- or (e)u- but is now no longer normally spoken as such. The -n- also lingered (especially in southern England dialect) before -w- and -y- through 15c.
It also is used before nouns of singular number and a few plural nouns when few or great many is interposed.
1580s as a noun; 1732 as an adjective, in reference to Chaldea, the rich plain of southern Babylon, or the people who lived there, with + -an + Latin Chaldaeus, from Greek Khaldaios, from Aramaic (Semitic) Kaldaie, from Akkadian (mat)Kaldu "the Chaldeans."
"having power to relieve pain," 1540s, from Medieval Latin anodynus "pain-removing, allaying pain," from Latin anodynus "painless," from Greek anodynos "free from pain," from an- "without" (see an- (1)) + odyne "pain, torment" (of the body or mind), a word of uncertain origin, evidently Indo-European, but none of the proposed etymologies satisfies Beekes. Some suggest it is a suffixed form of PIE root *ed- "to eat" (compare Lithuanian ėdžioti "to devour, bite," ėdžiotis "to suffer pain").
As a noun, "substance which alleviates pain," 1540s; in old slang, frequently a euphemism for "death" (as the final relief from the mental pain or distress of life) as in anodyne necklace "hangman's noose." Related: Anodynous.
Middle English anelen, from Old English onælan "to set on fire, kindle; inspire, incite," from on- "on" (see an- (1)) + ælan "to burn, bake," from Proto-Germanic *ailan, "probably" [Watkins] from the same PIE root meaning "to burn" that is the source of ash (n.1). It is related to Old English æled "fire, firebrand," Old Norse eldr, Danish ild "fire."
The -n- was doubled after c. 1600 by analogy of Latinate words (annex, etc.; compare accursed, afford, allay). Meaning "to treat by heating and gradually cooling" (of glass, earthenware, metals, etc., to toughen them) was in late Old English. Related: Annealed; annealing.
