-ien
Breton edit
Etymology edit
From Old Breton -ion, -on, Proto-Brythonic *-onos, *-onā. Cognate to Welsh -ion, Cornish -yon.
Suffix edit
-ien
- Noun pluralization suffix; sometimes with vocalic ablaut in the pluralized noun
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
Suffix edit
-ien m (plural -iens, feminine -ienne)
- 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)
- 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
- Used to form country names; -ia
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
- 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
Middle English edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
Borrowed from Old French -ien, from Latin -iānus.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
-ien
- 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
References edit
- “-ien, suf.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
Middle French edit
Etymology edit
From Old French -ien, from Latin -iānus.
Suffix edit
-ien (feminine equivalent -ienne)
Old French edit
Examples |
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Etymology edit
From Latin -iānus, from -ānus.
Suffix edit
-ien (feminine equivalent -iene or -ienne)