"-an" meaning in English

See -an in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Suffix

Etymology: 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. Etymology templates: {{inh|en|enm|-an}} Middle English -an, {{der|en|fro|-ain}} Old French -ain, {{cog|fr|-ain}} French -ain, {{der|en|la|-ānus}} Latin -ānus, {{cog|grc|-νος}} Ancient Greek -νος (-nos), {{der|en|ine-pro|*-nós}} Proto-Indo-European *-nós, {{cog|en|-en}} English -en Head templates: {{head|en|suffix|cat2=adjective-forming suffixes|cat3=noun-forming suffixes|head=|id=}} -an, {{en-suffix|cat2=adjective-forming suffixes|cat3=noun-forming suffixes}} -an
  1. 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.) Tags: morpheme Translations (of or pertaining to): ـِيّ (-iyy) (Arabic), (Catalan), -ský (Czech), -lainen (Finnish), -läinen (Finnish), -an [masculine] (Galician), -á [feminine] (Galician), -isch (German), -i (Hungarian), -s (Hungarian), -an- (Ido), -an (Interlingua), -ano (Italian), -ānus (Latin), -ão [masculine] (Portuguese), -ano [masculine] (Portuguese), -ana [feminine] (Portuguese), -ano (Spanish), -sk (Swedish), -isk (Swedish)
    Sense id: en--an-en-suffix-Inp-WrmW Categories (other): English links with redundant target parameters, English links with redundant wikilinks, Terms with Latin translations Disambiguation of Terms with Latin translations: 51 49 Synonyms: -al, -ar, -ese, -esque, -ic, -id, -ish, -like, -oid, -ous, -y Disambiguation of 'of or pertaining to': 100 0
  2. Appended to nouns to form an agent noun. (When males with a profession are distinguished from females, males are -an, females -(i)enne.) Tags: morpheme Translations (agent noun suffix): -ász (Hungarian), -ész (Hungarian), -ikus (Hungarian), -ano [masculine] (Interlingua), -ana [feminine] (Interlingua)
    Sense id: en--an-en-suffix-9L0vljv5 Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, Entries with translation boxes, Terms with Arabic translations, Terms with Catalan translations, Terms with Czech translations, Terms with Finnish translations, Terms with Galician translations, Terms with German translations, Terms with Hungarian translations, Terms with Ido translations, Terms with Interlingua translations, Terms with Italian translations, Terms with Latin translations, Terms with Portuguese translations, Terms with Spanish translations, Terms with Swedish translations Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 38 62 Disambiguation of Entries with translation boxes: 19 81 Disambiguation of Terms with Arabic translations: 32 68 Disambiguation of Terms with Catalan translations: 36 64 Disambiguation of Terms with Czech translations: 36 64 Disambiguation of Terms with Finnish translations: 31 69 Disambiguation of Terms with Galician translations: 36 64 Disambiguation of Terms with German translations: 28 72 Disambiguation of Terms with Hungarian translations: 38 62 Disambiguation of Terms with Ido translations: 31 69 Disambiguation of Terms with Interlingua translations: 35 65 Disambiguation of Terms with Italian translations: 26 74 Disambiguation of Terms with Latin translations: 51 49 Disambiguation of Terms with Portuguese translations: 41 59 Disambiguation of Terms with Spanish translations: 28 72 Disambiguation of Terms with Swedish translations: 35 65 Disambiguation of 'agent noun suffix': 23 77
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Synonyms: -ian (alt: euphonic variant, also spelled -aean or -æan), -n (english: when added to a word ending in a)

Alternative forms

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      "expansion": "Middle English -an",
      "name": "inh"
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    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fro",
        "3": "-ain"
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      "expansion": "Old French -ain",
      "name": "der"
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    {
      "args": {
        "1": "fr",
        "2": "-ain"
      },
      "expansion": "French -ain",
      "name": "cog"
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    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "-ānus"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin -ānus",
      "name": "der"
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    {
      "args": {
        "1": "grc",
        "2": "-νος"
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      "expansion": "Ancient Greek -νος (-nos)",
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        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
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        "1": "en",
        "2": "-en"
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      "expansion": "English -en",
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  "etymology_text": "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.",
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          "word": "-al"
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          "word": "-ar"
        },
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          "word": "-ese"
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        {
          "word": "-esque"
        },
        {
          "word": "-ic"
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        {
          "word": "-id"
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        {
          "word": "-ish"
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        {
          "word": "-like"
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          "word": "-oid"
        },
        {
          "word": "-ous"
        },
        {
          "word": "-y"
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      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "100 0",
          "code": "ar",
          "lang": "Arabic",
          "roman": "-iyy",
          "sense": "of or pertaining to",
          "word": "ـِيّ"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "100 0",
          "code": "ca",
          "lang": "Catalan",
          "sense": "of or pertaining to",
          "word": "-à"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "100 0",
          "code": "cs",
          "lang": "Czech",
          "sense": "of or pertaining to",
          "word": "-ský"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "100 0",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "of or pertaining to",
          "word": "-lainen"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "100 0",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "of or pertaining to",
          "word": "-läinen"
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        {
          "_dis1": "100 0",
          "code": "gl",
          "lang": "Galician",
          "sense": "of or pertaining to",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "-an"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "100 0",
          "code": "gl",
          "lang": "Galician",
          "sense": "of or pertaining to",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "-á"
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        {
          "_dis1": "100 0",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "of or pertaining to",
          "word": "-isch"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "100 0",
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "of or pertaining to",
          "word": "-i"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "100 0",
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "of or pertaining to",
          "word": "-s"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "100 0",
          "code": "io",
          "lang": "Ido",
          "sense": "of or pertaining to",
          "word": "-an-"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "100 0",
          "code": "ia",
          "lang": "Interlingua",
          "sense": "of or pertaining to",
          "word": "-an"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "100 0",
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "of or pertaining to",
          "word": "-ano"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "100 0",
          "code": "la",
          "lang": "Latin",
          "sense": "of or pertaining to",
          "word": "-ānus"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "100 0",
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "of or pertaining to",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "-ão"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "100 0",
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "of or pertaining to",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "-ano"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "100 0",
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "of or pertaining to",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "-ana"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "100 0",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "of or pertaining to",
          "word": "-ano"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "100 0",
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "sense": "of or pertaining to",
          "word": "-sk"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "100 0",
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "sense": "of or pertaining to",
          "word": "-isk"
        }
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          "_dis": "31 69",
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          "text": "comedy + -an → comedian",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "text": "history + -an → historian",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Appended to nouns to form an agent noun. (When males with a profession are distinguished from females, males are -an, females -(i)enne.)"
      ],
      "id": "en--an-en-suffix-9L0vljv5",
      "links": [
        [
          "agent noun",
          "agent noun#English"
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      ],
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        "morpheme"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "23 77",
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "agent noun suffix",
          "word": "-ász"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "23 77",
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "agent noun suffix",
          "word": "-ész"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "23 77",
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "agent noun suffix",
          "word": "-ikus"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "23 77",
          "code": "ia",
          "lang": "Interlingua",
          "sense": "agent noun suffix",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "-ano"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "23 77",
          "code": "ia",
          "lang": "Interlingua",
          "sense": "agent noun suffix",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "-ana"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "alt": "euphonic variant, also spelled -aean or -æan",
      "word": "-ian"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "english": "when added to a word ending in a",
      "word": "-n"
    }
  ],
  "word": "-an"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English adjective-forming suffixes",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English noun-forming suffixes",
    "English suffixes",
    "English terms derived from Latin",
    "English terms derived from Middle English",
    "English terms derived from Old French",
    "English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European",
    "English terms inherited from Middle English",
    "Entries with translation boxes",
    "Pages with 33 entries",
    "Pages with entries",
    "Terms with Arabic translations",
    "Terms with Catalan translations",
    "Terms with Czech translations",
    "Terms with Finnish translations",
    "Terms with Galician translations",
    "Terms with German translations",
    "Terms with Hungarian translations",
    "Terms with Ido translations",
    "Terms with Interlingua translations",
    "Terms with Italian translations",
    "Terms with Latin translations",
    "Terms with Portuguese translations",
    "Terms with Spanish translations",
    "Terms with Swedish translations"
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
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        "2": "enm",
        "3": "-an"
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      "expansion": "Middle English -an",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fro",
        "3": "-ain"
      },
      "expansion": "Old French -ain",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "fr",
        "2": "-ain"
      },
      "expansion": "French -ain",
      "name": "cog"
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    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "-ānus"
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      "expansion": "Latin -ānus",
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        "2": "-νος"
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      "expansion": "Ancient Greek -νος (-nos)",
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        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*-nós"
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        "1": "en",
        "2": "-en"
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      "expansion": "English -en",
      "name": "cog"
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  "etymology_text": "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.",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "suffix",
        "cat2": "adjective-forming suffixes",
        "cat3": "noun-forming suffixes",
        "head": "",
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      "expansion": "-an",
      "name": "head"
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    {
      "args": {
        "cat2": "adjective-forming suffixes",
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      "expansion": "-an",
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  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "suffix",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English links with redundant target parameters",
        "English links with redundant wikilinks"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "Rome + -an → Roman",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "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.)"
      ],
      "links": [
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          "-n#English"
        ]
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "-al"
        },
        {
          "word": "-ar"
        },
        {
          "word": "-ese"
        },
        {
          "word": "-esque"
        },
        {
          "word": "-ic"
        },
        {
          "word": "-id"
        },
        {
          "word": "-ish"
        },
        {
          "word": "-like"
        },
        {
          "word": "-oid"
        },
        {
          "word": "-ous"
        },
        {
          "word": "-y"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "morpheme"
      ]
    },
    {
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "comedy + -an → comedian",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "text": "history + -an → historian",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Appended to nouns to form an agent noun. (When males with a profession are distinguished from females, males are -an, females -(i)enne.)"
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "agent noun",
          "agent noun#English"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "morpheme"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "alt": "euphonic variant, also spelled -aean or -æan",
      "word": "-ian"
    },
    {
      "english": "when added to a word ending in a",
      "word": "-n"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "ar",
      "lang": "Arabic",
      "roman": "-iyy",
      "sense": "of or pertaining to",
      "word": "ـِيّ"
    },
    {
      "code": "ca",
      "lang": "Catalan",
      "sense": "of or pertaining to",
      "word": "-à"
    },
    {
      "code": "cs",
      "lang": "Czech",
      "sense": "of or pertaining to",
      "word": "-ský"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "of or pertaining to",
      "word": "-lainen"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "of or pertaining to",
      "word": "-läinen"
    },
    {
      "code": "gl",
      "lang": "Galician",
      "sense": "of or pertaining to",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "-an"
    },
    {
      "code": "gl",
      "lang": "Galician",
      "sense": "of or pertaining to",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "-á"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "of or pertaining to",
      "word": "-isch"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "of or pertaining to",
      "word": "-i"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "of or pertaining to",
      "word": "-s"
    },
    {
      "code": "io",
      "lang": "Ido",
      "sense": "of or pertaining to",
      "word": "-an-"
    },
    {
      "code": "ia",
      "lang": "Interlingua",
      "sense": "of or pertaining to",
      "word": "-an"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "of or pertaining to",
      "word": "-ano"
    },
    {
      "code": "la",
      "lang": "Latin",
      "sense": "of or pertaining to",
      "word": "-ānus"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "of or pertaining to",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "-ão"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "of or pertaining to",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "-ano"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "of or pertaining to",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "-ana"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "of or pertaining to",
      "word": "-ano"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "of or pertaining to",
      "word": "-sk"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "of or pertaining to",
      "word": "-isk"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "agent noun suffix",
      "word": "-ász"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "agent noun suffix",
      "word": "-ész"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "agent noun suffix",
      "word": "-ikus"
    },
    {
      "code": "ia",
      "lang": "Interlingua",
      "sense": "agent noun suffix",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "-ano"
    },
    {
      "code": "ia",
      "lang": "Interlingua",
      "sense": "agent noun suffix",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "-ana"
    }
  ],
  "word": "-an"
}

Download raw JSONL data for -an meaning in English (5.8kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-12-15 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-12-04 using wiktextract (8a39820 and 4401a4c). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.