yan

Y4A1N1
/jæn//jɛn/

numeral

One.

Less commonScrabble 6

Meanings

yan1

numeral
  1. CumbriaNorthumbriaOne.

yan2

numeral
  1. CumbriaOne in Cumbrian sheep counting rhyme.

yan3

determiner
  1. AppalachiaSynonym of yonder

    Synonyms: yonder

Yan4

proper noun

alternative Yen

  1. historicalAn ancient march, duchy, and kingdom of northeastern China during the Zhou dynasty.
    2 more examples

    It is Lady Zhao who concocts a devious plan to unite the populace behind the emperor by arranging a bogus assassination attempt that will justify his invasion of the neighboring kingdom of Yan. The climactic showdown with Jing Ke (Zhang Fengyi), the fearless professional killer she recruits for the job (and with whom she falls deeply in love) takes place at an ambassadorial ceremony where he appears in disguise and presents Ying Zheng with a box containing the severed head of an enemy general and a map with a concealed sword.

    1999 December 17, Stephen Holden, “FILM REVIEW; A Bloodthirsty Unification of China”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 01 Feb 2011, Movie Review

    The excavations, made this year ahead of development of a new administrative district for Beijing, shed light on life in a county-level city that was alive with activity several hundred years earlier than experts previously thought. Archaeological teams this year found ceramic and porcelain urns, earthen sculptures of animals, copper tools and mirrors — some of which are believed to be made by the Yan, a northern kingdom that stood for centuries before falling to the conqueror who unified China and became its first emperor in 221 B.C.

    2016 December 8, “Diggers find ancient tombs in Beijing suburb”, in AP News, sourced from BEIJING (AP), archived from the original on 05 Sep 2024
  2. historicalThe realm of this land under later imperial Chinese dynasties.

Yan5

proper nounYan (plural Yans)

plural Yans

  1. A male given name, equivalent to English John.
  2. A transliteration of the Belarusian, Russian, or Ukrainian male given name Ян (Jan)

Yan6

proper noun

alternative Yen

  1. A surname from Mandarin.

Synonyms & antonyms

determinerSynonym of yonder

Similar

proper nounA mountain chain in northeastern China.

Similar
Also see

Origin

yan · numeral

  1. Old Englishān
  2. Englishyan

Along with ane and yen, a Cumbrian and Northumbrian form of one, from the Old English ān. An example is "yan, twee, tree, fower" for "one, two, three, four".

Full word history & related roots →

yan · numeral

  1. Brythonic
  2. Englishyan

From Brythonic numerals, with influence from Old English ān or modern Northern English yan or Northern English yen.

Full word history & related roots →

Yan · proper noun

  1. Mandarin燕
  2. EnglishYan

From the Hanyu Pinyin romanization of the Mandarin 燕 (Yān).

Full word history & related roots →

Yan · proper noun

  1. Mandarin嚴 /严
  2. EnglishYan

From the Hanyu Pinyin romanization of the Mandarin 嚴 /严 (yán).

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with yan

All rhymes →

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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