"-nan" meaning in Papiamentu

{
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "pap",
        "2": "nan",
        "3": "",
        "4": "they"
      },
      "expansion": "nan (“they”)",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "pap",
        "2": "-nan"
      },
      "expansion": "-nan",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "pap",
        "2": "nan"
      },
      "expansion": "nan",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "pap",
        "2": "-nan"
      },
      "expansion": "-nan",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "kpc",
        "2": "-na"
      },
      "expansion": "-na",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "-en"
      },
      "expansion": "-en",
      "name": "m"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "The third person plural pronoun nan (“they”) and the overall plural noun suffix -nan are unique for Papiamentu and cannot be found in any other language. According to Clements and Parkvall the pronoun nan and its derived suffix -nan were introduced into the language just in the 1700s because of the grown need for a plural marking. Apparently before the introduction the need for a plural marking was not felt. Just like in other South American languages the suffix originated in the form \"kas-nan\" literally \"house-they\" (ac Lenz).\nCompare the Curripaco Arawak suffix -na and the Dutch suffix -en.\nSearches are being undertaken to find the African connections with the words \"iran\", \"ene\", \"na\", \"nan\", \"inen\" and \"ane\" in the languages Bini, Kwa, Anabonese, Bantu, Kimbundu, Angolar, Fa d'Ambu, Edo and Saotome in the African countries of Sao Tomé, Angola, Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria (see Bartens and Schuchardt). All very improbably.",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "pap",
        "2": "suffix"
      },
      "expansion": "-nan",
      "name": "head"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "Papiamentu",
  "lang_code": "pap",
  "pos": "suffix",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Papiamentu entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "kas (“house”) + -nan → kasnan (“houses”)",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Used to form regular plurals of nouns."
      ],
      "id": "en--nan-pap-suffix-weQdwA0d",
      "links": [
        [
          "regular",
          "regular#English"
        ],
        [
          "plural",
          "plural#English"
        ],
        [
          "noun",
          "noun#English"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "morpheme"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "-nan"
}

{
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "pap",
        "2": "nan",
        "3": "",
        "4": "they"
      },
      "expansion": "nan (“they”)",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "pap",
        "2": "-nan"
      },
      "expansion": "-nan",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "pap",
        "2": "nan"
      },
      "expansion": "nan",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "pap",
        "2": "-nan"
      },
      "expansion": "-nan",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "kpc",
        "2": "-na"
      },
      "expansion": "-na",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "-en"
      },
      "expansion": "-en",
      "name": "m"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "The third person plural pronoun nan (“they”) and the overall plural noun suffix -nan are unique for Papiamentu and cannot be found in any other language. According to Clements and Parkvall the pronoun nan and its derived suffix -nan were introduced into the language just in the 1700s because of the grown need for a plural marking. Apparently before the introduction the need for a plural marking was not felt. Just like in other South American languages the suffix originated in the form \"kas-nan\" literally \"house-they\" (ac Lenz).\nCompare the Curripaco Arawak suffix -na and the Dutch suffix -en.\nSearches are being undertaken to find the African connections with the words \"iran\", \"ene\", \"na\", \"nan\", \"inen\" and \"ane\" in the languages Bini, Kwa, Anabonese, Bantu, Kimbundu, Angolar, Fa d'Ambu, Edo and Saotome in the African countries of Sao Tomé, Angola, Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria (see Bartens and Schuchardt). All very improbably.",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "pap",
        "2": "suffix"
      },
      "expansion": "-nan",
      "name": "head"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "Papiamentu",
  "lang_code": "pap",
  "pos": "suffix",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "Papiamentu entries with incorrect language header",
        "Papiamentu lemmas",
        "Papiamentu suffixes"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "kas (“house”) + -nan → kasnan (“houses”)",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Used to form regular plurals of nouns."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "regular",
          "regular#English"
        ],
        [
          "plural",
          "plural#English"
        ],
        [
          "noun",
          "noun#English"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "morpheme"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "-nan"
}