-an
/ən/
Meaning
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 wo
One from, belonging to, relating to, or like.
Appended to nouns to form an occupation. (When males with a profession are distinguished from females, males are -an, females -(i)enne.)
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.)
Appended to nouns to form an occupation. (When males with a profession are distinguished from females, males are -an, females -(i)enne.)
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.)
Examples
Rome + -an → Roman
comedy + -an → comedian
history + -an → historian
Word Forms
more -an
most -an
-ans
-ian
-n
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.