See also: ien and iëŋ

Breton edit

Etymology edit

From Old Breton -ion, -on, Proto-Brythonic *-onos, *-onā. Cognate to Welsh -ion, Cornish -yon.

Suffix edit

-ien

  1. Noun pluralization suffix; sometimes with vocalic ablaut in the pluralized noun
    lenner (reader) + ‎-ien → ‎lennerien (readers)
    mab (son) + ‎-ien → ‎mibien (sons)

Derived terms edit

French edit

Etymology edit

Inherited from Middle French -ien, from Old French -ien, from Latin -iānus, from -ānus. Cognate to French -ain and -an.

Pronunciation edit

  • IPA(key): /jɛ̃/
  • (file)

Suffix edit

-ien m (plural -iens, feminine -ienne)

  1. forms nouns denoting where something or someone is from; -ian
    Paris + ‎-ien → ‎Parisien (a Parisian)
    Californie + ‎-ien → ‎Californien (a Californian)

Suffix edit

-ien (feminine -ienne, masculine plural -iens, feminine plural -iennes)

  1. forms adjectives indicating relation to; -ian
    Paris + ‎-ien → ‎parisien (Parisian)
    Californie + ‎-ien → ‎californien (Californian)
    Vadim + ‎-ien → ‎vadimien (of Roger Vadim Plemiannikov, French screenwriter, film director and producer)

Usage notes edit

When the name's last syllable contains "e" or "è" followed by a single consonant, that vowel is normally raised to "é": e.g. barrésien, beethovénien, mussétien, turnérien, wagnérien, etc.

Derived terms edit

German edit

Pronunciation edit

Etymology 1 edit

From Middle High German -ie, -je, from Latin -ia (feminine singular). Nouns with this Latinate suffix were originally strong (i.e. invariable) feminines, but inflected forms in -ien arose when the distinction between strong and weak feminines collapsed in later Middle High German. These were then treated by analogy with local names like Böhmen, Franken, Sachsen etc. (all originally dative plural of a tribe name).

Suffix edit

-ien n

  1. Used to form country names; -ia
    Tscheche (Czech person) + ‎-ien → ‎Tschechien (Czechia)
    Jordan (Jordan, river) + ‎-ien → ‎Jordanien (Jordan, country)

Etymology 2 edit

From Latin -ia (neuter plural). In some cases, analysable within German as a regular plural of an earlier form in -ium; e.g. Principium as an obsolete variant of Prinzip. The singular ending was sometimes lost, leaving -ien as a new, irregular plural suffix. In other cases, simply following the Latin i-declension (singular in -e, plural in -ia).

Suffix edit

-ien pl

  1. Used to form the plurals of some neuter nouns of Latin descent whose original plural ends in -ia.
    Material + ‎-ien → ‎Materialien
    Prinzip + ‎-ien → ‎Prinzipien
    Reptil + ‎-ien → ‎Reptilien
Usage notes edit
  • Not all nouns whose Latin plural is -ia necessarily take this ending. Some take a regular plural in -e, or have both forms alongside (for example, Reptile).

Middle English edit

Alternative forms edit

Etymology edit

Borrowed from Old French -ien, from Latin -iānus.

Pronunciation edit

  • IPA(key): /-iˈɛːn/, /-i.ɛn/, /-i.ən/, /-jɛn/, /-jən/

Noun edit

-ien

  1. Forms nouns and adjectives denoting origin, association, or residence; -ian.

Usage notes edit

  • Before this ending, /k/ becomes /s/; for instance, musike /miu̯ˈziːk(ə)/ + -ien becomes musicien /miu̯ˌzisiˈɛːn/.

Derived terms edit

Descendants edit

  • English: -ian
  • Scots: -ian

References edit

Middle French edit

Etymology edit

From Old French -ien, from Latin -iānus.

Suffix edit

-ien (feminine equivalent -ienne)

  1. -ian
    patricien
    patrician

Old French edit

Examples

Surgien
Citeien

Etymology edit

From Latin -iānus, from -ānus.

Suffix edit

-ien (feminine equivalent -iene or -ienne)

  1. -ian

Descendants edit