-ean

See also: Appendix:Variations of "ean"

English

Etymology

From Latin -ānus, following Latin stems ending in -e(us), -ē(us) (many from Ancient Greek -ηιος), or -æ(us) (many from -αιος).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /-ˈiːən/, /-iən/

Suffix

-ean

  1. Forms adjectives, usually from proper nouns.

Usage notes

  • Almost all English words ending in "ean" are originally from Latin (Caesarean) or Greek (Euclidean). A few were later formed by adding -an to a stem or word ending in -ea (Korean), -es (Andean), or a silent -e (Boolean).
  • Prescriptively, the suffix should be stressed if the word derives from a Latin stem ending in -ē(us) or -æ(us), and unstressed otherwise, but in practice in many words it has both pronunciations.

Derived terms

Anagrams

Aromanian

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *-ěninъ.

Suffix

-ean m (feminine singular -eanã, masculine plural -eanj or -enj, feminine plural -eani or -eane)

  1. Forms adjectives and nouns indicating origin or place of birth (such as from a certain city or region).
    Pindu (Pindus) + ‎-ean → ‎pindean (pindian)
    Gramusti (Grammos village) + ‎-ean → ‎grãmustean (Grammostian)

Derived terms

Aromanian terms suffixed with -ean

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from Old Church Slavonic -ѣнинъ (-jěninŭ), from Proto-Slavic *-ěninъ. Might also be conflated with Latin -iānus.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /e̯an/

Suffix

-ean m or n (feminine singular -eană or -eancă, masculine plural -eni, feminine and neuter plural -ene or -eance)

  1. Forms adjectives and nouns indicating origin or place of birth (such as from a certain city or region), or occasionally nationality.
    Ardeal (Transylvania) + ‎-ean → ‎ardelean (Transylvanian)
    București (Bucharest) + ‎-ean → ‎bucureștean (Bucharestian)

Usage notes

-eancă is often used instead of -eană to form feminine nouns.

Declension

Declension of -ean
singular plural
masculine neuter feminine masculine neuter feminine
nominative-
accusative
indefinite -ean -eană -eni -ene
definite -eanul -eana -enii -enele
genitive-
dative
indefinite -ean -ene -eni -ene
definite -eanului -enei -enilor -enelor

Derived terms

Romanian terms suffixed with -ean

See also

Spanish

Suffix

-ean

  1. third-person plural present indicative of -ear