Short Form of Than

Hello everyone,

While reading some quotation I've noticed the use of { 'n } as a short form of "than". Is that true?

As in the word { more'n }...and in case it is not then what does it stand for?

Thank you

That is not an accepted contraction. It's possible that it was used in Old English/ Middle Age English, but I've never seen than contracted to 'n

'n' is usually a contraction of "and" ie: Fish and Chips is often contracted to Fish 'n' Chips.

You'll likely see the 'n' contraction on display signs and products, but it should never be used in formal writings.

This contraction was not used in Old or Middle English either.

However, we do pronounce "than" something like "thn" in normal speech. The vowel is reduced in most cases and it is not the "a" in the word "cat".

"I don't hold no grudges more'n five years" William Kennedy, American novelist and screenwriter, and it was mentioned in the movie "Ironweed".

If it doesn't mean "more than" so what does it mean?

Do you have the full quotation? It is possible the sentence was written phonetically to convey more accuratly how the words sound together. Or it could be written phonetically to capture a person's accent. The only logic I see in writing "more'n" is that "more than" ends up sounding that way when spoken at a normal rate of speech. The "th" sound is still there, but is kind of lost between the "r" sound and the "n" sound. an example would be: "that is more than enough" sounds more like "that is more n enough". In any event, as has already been posted, this isn't a valid contraction in English.

oops "accuratly" should be spelt "accurately"

Aha. I do not know who William Kennedy is, but indeed it is written that way only for style. Perhaps to convey his personality.

Thank you all for your answers.

Johan, I guess I am totally convinced with your opinion, thanks for clearing that up to me.