*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of -ean

Etymology tree Latin -aeus /-ēus /-eusbor. Proto-Indo-European *-nós Proto-Italic *-nos Proto-Italic *-ānos Latin -ānus Old French -ainder. Middle English -an English -an English -ean Adapted borrowing of Latin -aeus /-ē

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In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
suffix

Forms adjectives, usually from proper nouns.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Etymology tree Latin -aeus /-ēus /-eusbor. Proto-Indo-European *-nós Proto-Italic *-nos Proto-Italic *-ānos Latin -ānus Old French -ainder. Middle English -an English -an English -ean Adapted borrowing of Latin -aeus /-ēus /-eus + -an (itself from -ānus). Latin -aeus and -ēus are in turn often found in borrowings from Ancient Greek words in -αῖος (-aîos) and -εῖος (-eîos) respectively.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":bor",
        "3": "la:-aeus//-ēus//-eus",
        "4": ":af",
        "5": "-an",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nLatin -aeus /-ēus /-eusbor.\nProto-Indo-European *-nós\nProto-Italic *-nos\nProto-Italic *-ānos\nLatin -ānus\nOld French -ainder.\nMiddle English -an\nEnglish -an\nEnglish -ean\n[Appendix:Glossary#loanword|Borrowed]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"Latin\", \"term\" : \"-aeus\\/\\/-ēus\\/\\/-eus\", \"status\" : \"missing\", \"lang\" : \"la\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" }, { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"der.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Derived from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*-nós\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Italic\", \"term\" : \"*-nos\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"itc-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"keyword\" : \"from\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Italic\", \"term\" : \"*-ānos\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"itc-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Latin\", \"term\" : \"-ānus\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"la\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Old French\", \"term\" : \"-ain\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"fro\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"derived\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Middle English\", \"term\" : \"-an\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"lang\" : \"enm\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"-an\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"-ean\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"-ean\">"
    },
    {
      "name": "af",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la:-aeus//-ēus//-eus",
        "3": "-an<pos:itself from <i class=\"Latn mention nowrap\" lang=\"la\">-ānus</i>>",
        "type": "adap"
      },
      "expansion": "Adapted borrowing of Latin -aeus /-ēus /-eus + -an (itself from -ānus)"
    },
    {
      "name": "m+",
      "args": {
        "1": "la",
        "2": "-aeus"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin -aeus"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "grc",
        "3": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Ancient Greek"
    },
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":bor",
        "3": "la:-aeus//-ēus//-eus",
        "4": ":af",
        "5": "-an",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nLatin -aeus /-ēus /-eusbor.\nProto-Indo-European *-nós\nProto-Italic *-nos\nProto-Italic *-ānos\nLatin -ānus\nOld French -ainder.\nMiddle English -an\nEnglish -an\nEnglish -ean"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "-aeus",
      "-aeus#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "-ēus",
      "-eus#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "-eus",
      "-eus#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "*-nós",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/-nós"
    ],
    [
      "*-nos",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Italic/-nos"
    ],
    [
      "*-ānos",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Italic/-ānos"
    ],
    [
      "-ānus",
      "-anus#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "-ain",
      "-ain#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "-an",
      "-an#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "-an",
      "-an#English"
    ],
    [
      "-aeus",
      "-aeus#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "-ēus",
      "-eus#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "-eus",
      "-eus#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "-an",
      "-an#English"
    ],
    [
      "-ānus",
      "-anus#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "-aeus",
      "-aeus#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "-ēus",
      "-eus#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "-αῖος",
      "-αῖος#Ancient_Greek"
    ],
    [
      "-εῖος",
      "-εῖος#Ancient_Greek"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "suffix",
      "glosses": [
        "Forms adjectives, usually from proper nouns."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "morpheme"
      ],
      "recordId": "8d50b02f5a0df1c38ce2221cd960fd2a7c12cc88bf4d6da4a9c23bb0426eed2b",
      "rawRecordSha256": "2abd52877b1d25cf8193aab942b78d74aa5f2f9dcaea5d97e8c33049174d331b",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 2769902
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for -ean →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-LWVhbg