-an

word-forming element meaning "pertaining to," from Latin -anus, adjective suffix, in some cases via French -ain, -en. From PIE *-no-.

Entries linking to -an

amoebaean (adj.)

also amoebean, "alternating, answering alternately," 1650s, from Greek amoibē "change, alteration; exchange" (see amoeba) + -an.

antiquarian (n.)

"one who studies or is fond of antiquities, one versed in knowledge of ancient things," c. 1600, with -an + Latin antiquarius "pertaining to antiquity," from antiquus "ancient, aged, venerable" (see antique (adj.)). In later use more specifically "collector of antiquities; dealer in old books, coins, objects of art, etc." As an adjective, "pertaining to antiquaries," from 1771. Compare antiquary.

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cerulean

"sky-colored, sky-blue," 1660s, with -an + Latin caeruleus "blue, dark blue, blue-green," perhaps from a dissimilation of caelulum, diminutive of caelum "heaven, sky," which is of uncertain origin (see celestial). The Latin word was applied by Roman authors to the sky, the Medite

nonagenarian

"person who has reached 90 years old; person between 90 and 100 years old;" 1776, coined in English with -an + Latin nonagenarius "containing ninety" (in Late Latin "someone 90 years old"), from nonagen "ninety each," related to nonaginta "the number ninety," from nonus "ninth" (

octogenarian

"person 80 years old or 80-odd years of age," 1789, with -an + French octogénaire "aged 80," from Latin octogenarius "containing eighty," from octogeni "eighty each," related to octoginta "eighty," from octo "eight" (see eight) + -genaria "ten times," from PIE *dkm-ta-, from root

finish

late 14c., "to bring to an end;" mid-15c., "to come to an end" (intransitive), from Old French finiss-, present participle...stem of fenir "stop, finish, come to an end; die" (13c.), from Latin finire "to limit, set bounds; put an end to; come to...an end," from finis "that which divides, a boundary, border," figuratively "a limit, an end, close, conclusion; an extremity...

orphan

' wash the cups an' saucers up, an' brush the crumbs away, An' shoo the chickens off the porch, an' dust the hearth, an...' sweep, An' make the fire, an' bake the bread, an' earn her board-an'-keep; An' all us other childern, when the supper-things..., An' the Gobble-uns 'at gits you Ef you Don't Watch Out!...Orphant was an old, corrupt form of orphan, attested from 17c....

overture

mid-13c., "an opening, an aperture;" early 15c. as "an introductory proposal, something offered to open the way to some conclusion...The orchestral sense of "a movement serving as a prelude or introduction to an extended work" in English is recorded from...

arbitrate

1580s, "act as an umpire, mediate, decide, determine, give an authoritative decision," from Latin arbitratus, past participle...of arbitrari "be of an opinion, give a decision," from arbiter "a judge, umpire, mediator" (see arbiter)....The meaning "act as an arbitrator" is from 1610s. Related: Arbitrated; arbitrating; arbitrable (1530s)....

staple

late 13c., stapel, "bent piece of metal with pointed ends," from Old English stapol, stapel "post, pillar, trunk of a tree, steps to a house," from Proto-Germanic *stapulaz "pillar" (source also of Old Norse stopull "tower," Old Saxon stapal "candle, small tub," Old Frisian stapu

reason

c. 1200, resoun, "the intellectual faculty that adopts actions to ends," also "statement in an argument, statement of explanation or justification," from Anglo-French resoun, Old French raison "course; matter; subject; language, speech; thought, opinion," from Latin rationem (nom

identity

c. 1600, "sameness, oneness, state of being the same," from French identité (14c.), from Medieval Latin identitatem (nominative identitas) "sameness," ultimately from Latin idem (neuter) "the same" (see idem). [For discussion of Latin formation, see entry in OED.] Earlier form of

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updated on September 28, 2017

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