Definitions

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • suffix of or pertaining to; adjective suffix appended to various words, often nouns, to make an adjective form. Often added to words of Latin origin, but used with other words also.
  • suffix Appended to nouns to form an agent noun.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin -ānus, which forms adjectives of belonging or origin from a noun.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word -an.

Examples

  • The Arab word talib, “student,” has been given a Persian suffix, -an, which is an unusual amalgam or was a mistake.

    The Right Word in the Right Place at the Right Time William Safire 2004

  • The Arab word talib, “student,” has been given a Persian suffix, -an, which is an unusual amalgam or was a mistake.

    The Right Word in the Right Place at the Right Time William Safire 2004

  • After all, singular genitive endings in Old English also included -e and -an.

    The English Is Coming! Leslie Dunton-Downer 2010

  • After all, singular genitive endings in Old English also included -e and -an.

    The English Is Coming! Leslie Dunton-Downer 2010

  • The arena is full of raving fans -an heterogeneous crowd of teens to forty somethings- and if it weren't for the fact that is 2pm on a weekday, you would easily think you were in a rock concert ready to party all night long.

    Monica Gutierrez: Charly Alberti Rocks in Green Monica Gutierrez 2011

  • The arena is full of raving fans -an heterogeneous crowd of teens to forty somethings- and if it weren't for the fact that is 2pm on a weekday, you would easily think you were in a rock concert ready to party all night long.

    Monica Gutierrez: Charly Alberti Rocks in Green Monica Gutierrez 2011

  • The arena is full of raving fans -an heterogeneous crowd of teens to forty somethings- and if it weren't for the fact that is 2pm on a weekday, you would easily think you were in a rock concert ready to party all night long.

    Monica Gutierrez: Charly Alberti Rocks in Green Monica Gutierrez 2011

  • The arena is full of raving fans -an heterogeneous crowd of teens to forty somethings- and if it weren't for the fact that is 2pm on a weekday, you would easily think you were in a rock concert ready to party all night long.

    Monica Gutierrez: Charly Alberti Rocks in Green Monica Gutierrez 2011

  • I can explain where the -an in Talib-an came from: -an is the regular animatemasculine plural ending in Pashto, the native language of the vast majorityof the Taliban.

    The Right Word in the Right Place at the Right Time William Safire 2004

  • I can explain where the -an in Talib-an came from: -an is the regular animatemasculine plural ending in Pashto, the native language of the vast majorityof the Taliban.

    The Right Word in the Right Place at the Right Time William Safire 2004

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.