-an

British, Southern, Standard/ən/

suffix

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”

Similar
-al-ar-ese-esque-ic-id-ish-like
OriginMiddle English -an ← Old French -ain ← Latin -ānus →
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Meanings

suffix-an (adjective-forming suffix, comparative more -an, superlative most -an)

comparative more -an · superlative most -an · plural -ans · alternative -ian · alternative -n

  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.)

    Rome + -an → Roman

    Synonyms: -al, -ar, -ese, -esque, -ic, -id, -ish, -like

  2. One from, belonging to, relating to, or like.
  3. 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

    1 more example

    history + -an → historian

  4. Appended to words indicating sugars to form a polysaccharide.

    glucose + -an → glucan

    1 more example

    dextrose + -an → dextran

Synonyms & antonyms

suffixOf 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.)

Similar
-al-ar-ese-esque-ic-id-ish-like-oid-ous-y
Also see
-ar-ese-id-y

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*-nós
  2. Latin-ānus
  3. Old French-ain
  4. Middle English-an
  5. 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.

More words from Middle English, Old French, Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic ـِيّ
  • ـِيّ (-iyy)of or pertaining to
Catalan -à
  • -àof or pertaining to
Czech -ský
  • -skýof or pertaining to
Finnish -lainen, -läinen
  • -lainenof or pertaining to
  • -läinenof or pertaining to
German -isch
  • -ischof or pertaining to
Hungarian -i, -s
  • -iof or pertaining to
  • -sof or pertaining to
  • -ászoccupational suffix
  • -észoccupational suffix
  • -ikusoccupational suffix
Italian -ano
  • -anoof or pertaining to
Latin -ānus
  • -ānusof or pertaining to
Portuguese -ão, -ano
  • -ãoof or pertaining to
  • -anoof or pertaining to
  • -anaof or pertaining to
Spanish -ano
  • -anoof or pertaining to
Swedish -sk, -isk
  • -skof or pertaining to
  • -iskof or pertaining to
Cite this entry
APA

-an. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-an

MLA

“-an.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-an. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “-an,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-an.

Source: -an on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.