anon

Etymology 1

From Middle English anoon, anon, anan (literally “in one (moment)”), from on (“in”) + ān (“one”). See on and one.

adv

1. (archaic) Straight away; at once.
   The dead man answered thus: “What good gift shall God give us?”, The boards answered him anon: “Flesh to feed hell's worm upon.” 1866, Algernon Swinburne, After death, lines 47–50
2. Soon; in a little while.
   […]for as much as the same consisteth not in the extreames, but in a verie mediocritie of wealth and riches, as it shall better appeare anone. 1598, John Stow, A Suruay of London, →OL
3. At another time; then; again.

Etymology 2

Clipping of anonymous.

noun

1. An anonymous person, especially an author.
   Indeed they did all they could to avoid it, coyly hiding their identities behind initials, asterisks, and anons 1904, Thomas Wright, The Life of Edward Fitzgerald, volume 1, page 94
   Every body shared in the emotion of Anons [sic] song .... Anon is sometimes man, sometimes woman.... 1940, Virginia Woolf, Anon
   Indeed, virtually every known playwright (and probably most of those 'anons') occupied some position in one or more of the patronage networks 2004, Jane Milling, Peter Thomson, Joseph W. Donohue, Baz Kershaw, The Cambridge History of British Theatre, page 207
   those identified by initials only and the 'Anons' (some of whom are here unmasked) 2006, J. Michael Walton, Found in Translation: Greek Drama in English, page 185
   1. (Internet) An anonymous poster (“person who contributes a note, message, etc”). A participant in an online site, such as a forum or an imageboard, without an account, or who posts without identifying themself, or hidden behind a pseudonym.
2. A work with an unknown author.
   On the floor again she came upon a couple of "Anons" and frowned at them: Ought We to Visit Her and Cast Away in The Cold. Those would certainly do very well on the top shelf. 1984, Helen Hooven Santmyer, "...And Ladies of the Club", page 214
3. A work without a title.

adj

1. Short for anonymous.