-an en · X
Pronunciation
- /ən/ (British, Southern, Standard)
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *-nós Proto-Italic *-nos Proto-Italic *-ānos Latin -ānus Old French -ainder. Middle English -an English -an From Middle English -an, regularly -ain, -ein, -en, from Old French -ain, -ein, or before i, -en (modern French -ain, -en, feminine -aine, -enne), from Latin -ānus (feminine -āna), which forms adjectives of belonging or origin from a noun, being -nus [cognate with Ancient Greek -νος (-nos)] preceded by a vowel, from Proto-Indo-European *-nós. Cognate with English -en. Compare with -in, -ine.
Meanings
-
(morpheme) Of or pertaining to; an adjectival suffix appended to various words, often nouns, to make an adjective form. (Often added to words of Latin origin, but also used with words of other origins. When a word ends in a, -n is used instead.)
Rome + -an → Roman
- (morpheme) One from, belonging to, relating to, or like.
-
(morpheme) Appended to nouns to form an occupation. (When males with a profession are distinguished from females, males are -an, females -(i)enne.)
comedy + -an → comedian
history + -an → historian
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| -n | alternative | lexicographic | |
| most -an | Degree=Sup | lexicographic | |
| -ian | alternative | lexicographic | |
| more -an | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic | |
| -ans | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Synonyms
-id · -like · -al · -oid · -ish · -y · -esque · -ous · -ese · -ar · -ic
Translations (25)
fi -lainen (of or pertaining to) · hu -i (of or pertaining to) · hu -ikus (occupational suffix) · hu -s (of or pertaining to) · it -ano (of or pertaining to) · gl -an (of or pertaining to) · ar ـِيّ (of or pertaining to) · pt -ana (of or pertaining to) · la -ānus (of or pertaining to) · ca -à (of or pertaining to) · hu -ész (occupational suffix) · io -an- (of or pertaining to) · fi -läinen (of or pertaining to) · ia -an (of or pertaining to) · sv -isk (of or pertaining to) · ia -ana (occupational suffix) · pt -ano (of or pertaining to) · gl -á (of or pertaining to) · ia -ano (occupational suffix) · pt -ão (of or pertaining to) · cs -ský (of or pertaining to) · es -ano (of or pertaining to) · hu -ász (occupational suffix) · de -isch (of or pertaining to) · sv -sk (of or pertaining to)