aún

Definition & meaning

The word "aún" is an adverb in Spanish that generally expresses the continuity of an action or state. It has two primary meanings depending on the context:

1. Still / Yet: It indicates that an action or situation continues to happen or has not finished. For example: "Aún no he terminado" (I have not finished yet).
2. Even: It is used to emphasize a comparison or a degree of intensity. For example: "Es aún más grande" (It is even bigger).

Note: The word "aun" (without an accent) also exists and is used as a synonym for "even" in the sense of "even if" or "including," though in modern Spanish, the distinction is often debated or clarified by specific rules of the RAE.

Grammar & Word origin

Grammatically, "aún" is an adverb of time or degree. The accent mark (tilde) is a diacritic accent used to distinguish it from the conjunction "aun," which does not carry an accent.

Historically, the word derives from the Latin "adhuc," which means "up to this point" or "until now." Over time, through phonetic evolution in Vulgar Latin and Old Spanish, it transitioned into its current form.

Synonyms & antonyms

Synonyms:

• Todavía ↗ (Still/Yet)
• Hasta ahora [?](vocabuo://word/hasta ahora) (Until now)
• Incluso ↗ (Even, when used in the sense of adding emphasis)

Antonyms:

• Ya ↗ (Already/Anymore)