# wan

> English word · Adjective · IPA /wɒn/ · frequency rank #9,690

## Definitions
1. Pale, sickly-looking.
2. Dim, faint.
3. Bland, uninterested.

## Etymology
From Middle English wan, wanne (“grey, leaden; pale grey, ashen; blue-black (like a bruise); dim, faint; dark, gloomy”), from Old English wann (“dark, dusky”), from Proto-Germanic *wannaz (“dark, swart”), of uncertain origin. Cognate with Old Frisian wann, wonn (“dark”).

## Easily confused with
- **we** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wan-vs-we)
- **wi** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wan-vs-wi)
- **Wu** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wan-vs-wu)
- **wo** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wan-vs-wo)
- **WC** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wan-vs-wc)
- **wt** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wan-vs-wt)
- **WS** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wan-vs-ws)
- **WV** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wan-vs-wv)
- **WD** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wan-vs-wd)
- **WL** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wan-vs-wl)
- **wy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wan-vs-wy)
- **WF** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wan-vs-wf)
- **was** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wan-vs-was)
- **who** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wan-vs-who)
- **way** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wan-vs-way)
- **why** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wan-vs-why)
- **war** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wan-vs-war)
- **win** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wan-vs-win)
- **won** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wan-vs-won)
- **wow** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wan-vs-wow)

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/wan