French

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Etymology

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The elided article l’ + on, which is of nominal origin (see the related homme). This pronoun has traditionally been assessed as a euphonic prothesis (in particular after que to avoid the homophone of qu’on with con), but the form is in fact found in free variation, including at the beginning of sentences in very formal usage.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /l‿ɔ̃/
  • Audio:(file)

Pronoun

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l’on

  1. (formal, literary) Alternative form of on