At&t phone rings twice and goes to voicemail

From Middle English at, from Old English æt (“at, near, by, toward”), from Proto-Germanic *at (“at, near, to”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd (“near, at”). Cognate with Scots at (“at”), North Frisian äät, äit, et, it (“at”), Danish at (“to”), Swedish åt (“for, toward”), Norwegian åt (“to”), Faroese at (“at, to, toward”), Icelandic að (“to, towards”), Gothic 𐌰𐍄 (at, “at”), Latin ad (“to, near”).

Preposition[edit]

at

1. In, near, or in the general vicinity of a particular place.

   at the corner of Fourth Street and Vine

   • 1919, Plutarch, Parallel Lives, "The Life of Cicero", 43 (Bernadotte Perrin, trans.)"Hirtius and Pansa, who were good men and admirers of Cicero, begged him not to desert them, and undertook to put down Antony if Cicero would remain at Rome."

   • 1992, Rudolf M[athias] Schuster, The Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of North America: East of the Hundredth Meridian, volume V, New York, N.Y.: Columbia University Press, →ISBN, page 4:

     (b) sporophyte with foot reduced, the entire sporophyte enveloped by the calyptra, which is ± stipitate at the base.

   • 2016, VOA Learning English (public domain)Today my friend Marsha is at her friend's house.
2. (indicating time) Indicating occurrence in an instant of time or a period of time relatively short in context or from the speaker's perspective.
   • 1838, The Family MagazineLafayette was major-general in the American army at the age of 18 […]

   • 2012 April 19, Josh Halliday, “Free speech haven or lawless cesspool – can the internet be civilised?”, in the Guardian:

     Other global taboos, such as sex and suicide, manifest themselves widely online, with websites offering suicide guides and Hot XXX Action seconds away at the click of a button. The UK government will come under pressure to block access to pornographic websites this year when a committee of MPs publishes its report on protecting children online.

   • 2016, VOA Learning English (public domain)Hi, Anne. Are you busy? — Hi, Anna. Yes. At 10 a.m. I am writing.
3. In the direction of (often in an unfocused or uncaring manner).
   • “My Continental prominence is improving,” I commented dryly.
     Von Lindowe cut at a furze bush with his silver-mounted rattan.
     “Quite so,” he said as dryly, his hand at his mustache. “I may say if your intentions were known your life would not be worth a curse.”
4. Denotes a price.

   The offer was at $30,000 before negotiations.

5. Occupied in (activity).
6. In a state of.
7. Indicates a position on a scale or in a series.

   Tiger finished the round at tenth, seven strokes behind the leaders.

   I'm offering it—just to select customers—at cost.

8. Because of.
9. Indicates a means, method, or manner.

   • 1995, Richard Klein, Cigarettes are Sublime, →ISBN, page 41:

     [...] to be sold at auction for sixty gold francs.

   • 2012, Sami Moubayed, Syria and the USA: Washington's Relations with Damascus, →ISBN:

     A few days later, on 1 October, King Hussein opened the Jordanian Parliament by speaking at length about the crisis in Syria,

10. Holding a given speed or rate.

    It is growing at the rate of 3% a year.

    Cruising along at fifty miles per hour.

11. (used for skills (including in activities) or areas of knowledge) On the subject of; regarding.

    The twins were both bad at chemistry.

    He slipped at marksmanship over his extended vacation.

    • 2015, Sanyan Stories: Favorites from a Ming Dynasty Collection, →ISBN, page 157:

      She's good at playing musical instruments, singing and dancing, chess, calligraphy, and painting.

12. (Ireland, stressed pronunciation) Bothering, irritating, causing discomfort to
    • 1995 Keith Wood, quoted in David Hughes, "Wood odds-on to take one against the head", in The Independent (London) 18 January:I think 'Jesus, my back is at me'. Then I get the ball. Off you go for 10 yards and you don't feel a thing. Then you stop and think: `Jesus, it's at me again'[.]
    • 2014 Marian Keyes "Antarctic Diary - Part 2" personal website (January 2014):He seems to be saying. “Ah, go on, you’re making the other lads feel bad.” But the 4th fella says, “No. Don’t be ‘at’ me. I’m just not in the form right now, I’ll stay where I am, thanks.”
13. (UK, Commonwealth, Ireland, especially finance) (also as at; before dates) On a particular date.
    • n.d., quoted in Longmans Business Dictionary:balance as at 20th March 1999

Usage notes[edit]

• He threw the ball to me — (so I could catch it).
• He threw the ball at me — (trying to hit me with it).

• He talked to her — (conversationally).
• He shouted at her — (aggressively).

Translations[edit]

Noun[edit]

at (plural ats)

Translations[edit]

Verb[edit]

at (third-person singular simple present ats, present participle atting, simple past and past participle atted)

1. (informal, neologism) Rare form of @; to reply to or talk to someone, either online or face-to-face. (from the practice of targeting a message or reply to someone online by writing @name)
   • 2022: William Morris, Motley VisionIf you have questions or observations on my discussion questions, feel free to reply to this email, at me on Twitter, or comment on the companion post on AMV.

Usage notes[edit]

Chiefly used in the phrase "don't @ me"/"don't at me". It can be used humorously when stated after an unpopular or ironic opinion, to forestall dissent.

Etymology 2[edit]

Pronoun[edit]

at

1. (Northern England, rare, possibly obsolete) Alternative form of 'at (relative pronoun; reduced form of "that" and/or "what")
   • 1860, Robert Gordon Latham, Song of Solomon, as spoken in Durham [by Thomas Moore], in A hand-book of the English language:Tak us t' foxes, t' little foxes at spoils t' veynes: fer our veynes hev tender grapes.

Etymology 3[edit]

Noun[edit]

at (plural ats or at)

1. Alternative form of att (Laos currency unit)

Anagrams[edit]

Azerbaijani[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Proto-Turkic *at (“horse”).[1]

Noun[edit]

at (definite accusative atı, plural atlar)

Declension[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

Further reading[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

Verb[edit]

at

Bikol Central[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from Tagalog at.

Pronunciation[edit]

Conjunction[edit]

at

Chuukese[edit]

at

Etymology 1[edit]

From Old Norse at. Cognate with Swedish att, Norwegian at. Probably from Proto-Germanic *þat, a demonstrative pronoun used as a conjunction; compare English that, German dass, Dutch dat.

Pronunciation[edit]

Conjunction[edit]

at

References[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

From Old Norse at, cognate with Swedish att, Norwegian å. Originally the same word as the preposition Old Norse at (“at, to”), from Proto-Germanic *at, cognate with English at. Doublet of ad). In the West Germanic languages, a different preposition, *tō (“to”), serves as the infinitive marker, cf English to, German zu, Dutch te.

Pronunciation[edit]

Particle[edit]

at

1. to (infinitive-marker, obligatory when the infinitive functions as noun phrase or an adverbial phrase, but omitted when it is governed by a modal verb)

   Det er menneskeligt at fejle.It is human to fail.

2. introducing an adverb of direction after a phrase that normally governs an infinitive (which may be understood elliptically)
   • 1992, Thøger Birkeland, Bette Nielses krig:Mon de da ikke snart skulle til at hjemad!Aren't they going to go home soon!

References[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

at

Eastern Durango Nahuatl[edit]

at

Egyptian[edit]

Romanization[edit]

at

Faroese[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Old Norse at.

Preposition[edit]

at

Etymology 2[edit]

From Old Norse at (“that”), from Proto-Germanic *þat (“that”). Cognate with Middle English at (“that”, conjunction and relative pronoun), Scots at (“that”, conjunction and relative pronoun). More at that.

Conjunction[edit]

at

Etymology 3[edit]

From Old Norse at (“at, to”), from Proto-Germanic *at (“at, to”). More at at.

Particle[edit]

at

1. to A particle used to mark the following verb as an infinitive.At lyfta. ― To lift

Friulian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Latin actus. Cognate with Italian atto.

at m (plural ats)

Etymology 1[edit]

Borrowed from English at.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

at n (strong, genitive at, plural ats)

Etymology 2[edit]

Symbol[edit]

at

Further reading[edit]

• “at” in Duden online
• “at” in Duden online
• “at” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache

Romanization[edit]

at

Icelandic[edit]

Etymology[edit]

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation[edit]

at n (genitive singular ats, nominative plural öt)

Declension[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Old Irish att (“swelling, protuberance, tumour”).

Noun[edit]

at m (genitive singular as substantive ait, genitive as verbal noun ata, nominative plural atanna)

1. swelling
   • 1899, Franz Nikolaus Finck, Die araner mundart, Marburg: Elwert’sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, vol. II, p. 11:tā at ə l̄āv m inīnə.conventional orthography: Tá at i lámh m’iníne.My daughter has a swelling on her hand.
   • 1899, Franz Nikolaus Finck, Die araner mundart, Marburg: Elwert’sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, vol. II, p. 11:tā šȧxt n-at i n-ə wunāl.conventional orthography: Tá seacht n-at ina mhuineál.He has seven swellings on his neck.
   • 1899, Franz Nikolaus Finck, Die araner mundart, Marburg: Elwert’sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, vol. II, p. 11:kiŕ də lāv ə n̄-isḱə leš n̥ t-at ə wȳlū.conventional orthography: Cuir do lámh in uisce leis an t-at a maolú.Put your hand in water to reduce the swelling.
2. verbal noun of at

Declension[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

From Old Irish attaid (“swells, dilates, increases”, verb), from att (“swelling, protuberance, tumour”).

Verb[edit]

at (present analytic atann, future analytic atfaidh, verbal noun at, past participle ata)

Conjugation[edit]

• Alternative past participle: ataithe

Mutation[edit]

Further reading[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Latin actus.

at m (plural ac)

Etymology[edit]

From Proto-Indo-European *h₂éti.

Pronunciation[edit]

Conjunction[edit]

at

Synonyms[edit]

Derived terms[edit]

References[edit]

• “at”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “at”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “at”, in Geir T. Zoëga (1910) A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• at in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• De Vaan, Michiel (2008) Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7)‎[1], Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN

Livonian[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

at

1. 3rd person plural present indicative form of vȱlda

Middle English[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Old English æt, from Proto-Germanic *at, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd.

Alternative forms[edit]

Preposition[edit]

at

Descendants[edit]

References[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

From Old Norse at.

Particle[edit]

at

1. (Northern, northern East Midlands) to (infinitive-marker)

References[edit]

Min Nan[edit]

Norwegian Bokmål[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Old Norse at. Cognate with Danish at and Swedish att.

Pronunciation[edit]

Conjunction[edit]

at

References[edit]

“at” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Old Norse at. Cognate with Danish at and Swedish att.

Pronunciation[edit]

Conjunction[edit]

at

References[edit]

“at” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Old Irish[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

• it (second-person singular)
• ata (third-person plural relative)

Pronunciation[edit]

• (second-person singular): IPA(key): /at/
• (third-person plural relative): IPA(key): /ad/

at

Old Norse[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Proto-Germanic *atǭ. Related to Old English etja.

Noun[edit]

at n (genitive ats, plural ǫt)

Declension[edit]

Descendants[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

From Proto-Germanic *þat (“that”). Cognate with Old English þæt, Gothic 𐌸𐌰𐍄𐌰 (þata). Doublet of þat; for similar loss of þ- compare an from Proto-Germanic *þan.

Conjunction[edit]

at

Descendants[edit]

Etymology 3[edit]

From Proto-Germanic *at (“at, to”). Cognate with Old English æt, Old Frisian et, Old Saxon at, Old High German az, Gothic 𐌰𐍄 (at).

Particle[edit]

at

Descendants[edit]

• Icelandic: að
• Faroese: at
• Norwegian:
  • Norwegian Bokmål: å
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: å
• Swedish: att
• Danish: at

Preposition[edit]

at

Descendants[edit]

• Icelandic: að
• Faroese: at
• Norwegian Bokmål: åt
• Old Swedish: at, āt
• Old Danish: at

References[edit]

• “at”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “at”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “at”, in Geir T. Zoëga (1910) A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• at in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)

Etymology[edit]

From Proto-Nahuan *aatl, from Proto-Uto-Aztecan *pa-ta. Compare Classical Nahuatl ātl (“water”).

Pronunciation[edit]

at (plural ahat)

1. water

   Xiconi chopi atDrink some water

2. rain

   Axcan huetzi atToday it's raining

3. river

   Nemi ne tacat itempan ne atThe man is on the riverbank

Derived terms[edit]

• -ayo (“soup, broth; juice; liquid”)

Etymology[edit]

From Proto-Khasian *ʔa:t, from Proto-Mon-Khmer *as ~ ʔəs. Cognate with Khasi at, Riang [Sak] ʔas¹, Nyaheun ʔaːjh, Pacoh ayh, Semai as.

Pronunciation[edit]

at

Pochutec[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Proto-Nahuan *aatl, from Proto-Uto-Aztecan *pa-ta.

Pronunciation[edit]

at

References[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Proto-Turkic *at.

Pronunciation[edit]

• (Chahandusi, Ejia, Daowei, Hanbahe, Jiezi, Gaizi, Ashnu, Hualong, Jishi, Mengda, Baizhuang, Xunhua, Qinghai, Ili, Samuyuzi, Yining, Xinjiang) IPA(key): [ɑtʰ], [atʰ], [ɑʰtʰ]
• (Dazhuang, Mengda, Xunhua, Qinghai) IPA(key): [ɑdʒ], [ɑdʒʰ]
• (Jiezi, Xunhua, Qinghai) IPA(key): [ɑʒʰ]
• (Chahandusi, Jiezi, Mengda, Xunhua, Qinghai) IPA(key): [ɑːtʰ]

Noun[edit]

at

References[edit]

• Tenishev, Edhem (1976), “at”, in Stroj salárskovo jazyká [Grammar of Salar], Moscow: Nauka, page 296
• Ma, Chengjun; Han, Lianye; Ma, Weisheng (December 2010), “at”, in 米娜瓦尔 艾比布拉 (Minavar Abibra), editor, 撒维汉词典 (Sāwéihàncídiǎn) [Salar-Uyghur-Chinese dictionary], 1st edition, Beijing, →ISBN, page 22
• 马伟 (Ma Wei), 朝克 (Chao Ke) (2016), “at”, in 濒危语言——撒拉语研究 [Endangered Languages ​​- Salar Language Studies], 青海 (Qinghai): 国家社会科学基金项目 (National Social Science Foundation Project), page 263
• Yakup, Abdurishid (2002), “at”, in An Ili Salar Vocabulary: Introduction and a Provisional Salar-English Lexicon, Tokyo: University of Tokyo, →ISBN, page 47

Etymology 2[edit]

Cognate with Azerbaijani atmaq.

Pronunciation[edit]

• (Ashnu, Hualong, Dazhuang, Mengda, Xunhua, Qinghai, Ili, Yining, Xinjiang) IPA(key): [ɑtʰ], [ɑʰ]

Verb[edit]

at

References[edit]

• Tenishev, Edhem (1976), “at”, in Stroj salárskovo jazyká [Grammar of Salar], Moscow: Nauka, page 296
• Ma, Chengjun; Han, Lianye; Ma, Weisheng (December 2010), “at”, in 米娜瓦尔 艾比布拉 (Minavar Abibra), editor, 撒维汉词典 (Sāwéihàncídiǎn) [Salar-Uyghur-Chinese dictionary], 1st edition, Beijing, →ISBN, page 22
• 马伟 (Ma Wei), 朝克 (Chao Ke) (2016), “at”, in 濒危语言——撒拉语研究 [Endangered Languages ​​- Salar Language Studies], 青海 (Qinghai): 国家社会科学基金项目 (National Social Science Foundation Project), page 288
• Yakup, Abdurishid (2002), “at”, in An Ili Salar Vocabulary: Introduction and a Provisional Salar-English Lexicon, Tokyo: University of Tokyo, →ISBN, page 47

Preposition[edit]

at

Scottish Gaelic[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Old Irish att.

Noun[edit]

at m

Derived terms[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

From Old Irish attaid (“swells, dilates, increases”, verb), from att (“swelling, protuberance, tumour”).

Verb[edit]

at (past dh'at, future ataidh, verbal noun at or atadh, past participle athte)

Mutation[edit]

Further reading[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *əpat, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *əpat, from Proto-Austronesian *Səpat.

Numeral[edit]

at

Serbo-Croatian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish آت‎ (at).

at m (Cyrillic spelling ат)

Declension[edit]

Derived terms[edit]

Simeulue[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *əpat, from Proto-Austronesian *Səpat.

Numeral[edit]

at

Tagalog[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

• 't (after words ending with vowel)

Etymology[edit]

Compare Pangasinan ta (“because”) and tan (“and”), and Remontado Agta at (“and; because”).

Pronunciation[edit]

Conjunction[edit]

at (Baybayin spelling ᜀᜆ᜔)

1. and
2. as; for; because

   Bilisan mo at ako'y aalis na.Do it faster as I'm leaving soon.

Derived terms[edit]

Tlingit[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

IPA(key): [ʔʌ̀tʰ]

Pronoun[edit]

at

1. fourth-person non-human object pronoun (roughly equivalent to "something")
2. fourth-person non-human possessive pronoun (roughly equivalent to "something's")

Derived terms[edit]

Tocharian B[edit]

Etymology[edit]

An apocopated form of ate (“id”)

at

Further reading[edit]

• Adams, Douglas Q. (2013), “at”, in A Dictionary of Tocharian B: Revised and Greatly Enlarged (Leiden Studies in Indo-European; 10), Amsterdam, New York: Rodopi, →ISBN, page 9

Torres Strait Creole[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From English heart.

at

Turkish[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Ottoman Turkish آت‎ (at, “horse”), from Proto-Turkic *at, *ăt (“horse”). Cognate with Karakhanid اَتْ‎ (at, “horse”), Old Turkic 𐱃‎ (t¹ /at/, “horse”).

Noun[edit]

at (definite accusative atı, plural atlar)

Declension[edit]

Derived terms[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

Verb[edit]

at

Further reading[edit]

• at in Turkish dictionaries at Türk Dil Kurumu

Turkmen[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Proto-Turkic *at, *ăt (“horse”).

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

at (definite accusative ady, plural atlar)

Declension[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

From Proto-Turkic *āt (“name”). Cognate with Old Turkic 𐰀𐱃‎ (āt, “name”), Chuvash ят (jat, “name”), Turkish ad.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

at (definite accusative ady, plural atlar)

Declension[edit]

Volapük[edit]

Determiner[edit]

at

Etymology[edit]

Cognate with Yagnobi ашт (ašt).

Numeral[edit]

at

Etymology[edit]

Variant of Old Welsh ad (alongside the now-obsolete add), from Proto-Celtic *ad, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd.

What is the use at?

Why AT is used for?

Where is AT mean?