-oan

suffix

Used to convert the name of an atom or ion to an adjective that means containing cations or anions of that atom or ion.

“bismuth + -oan → bismuthoan (“containing trivalent bismuth”)”

OriginProto-Indo-European *h₃édosder.? →
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

suffix
  1. Used to convert the name of an atom or ion to an adjective that means containing cations or anions of that atom or ion.

    bismuth + -oan → bismuthoan (“containing trivalent bismuth”)

    2 more examples

    cupro- (“copper”) + -oan → cuproan (“containing monovalent copper”)

    plumbo- (“lead”) + -oan → plumboan (“containing divalent lead”)

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₃ed-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₃édosder.?
  3. English-oan

Suffixal construction from -o(us) + -an.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

-oan. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-oan

MLA

“-oan.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-oan. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “-oan,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-oan.

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