English

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Etymology

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From Middle English -ant, -aunt, partly from Old French -ant, from Latin -āns; and partly (in adjectival derivations) continuing Middle English -ant, a variant of -and, -end, from Old English -ende (present participle ending), see -and.

Suffix

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-ant

  1. (now sciences, chiefly medicine) The agent noun derived from verb.
    serveservant
  2. An adjective corresponding to a noun in -ance, having the sense of "exhibiting (the condition or process described by the noun)".
  3. An adjective derived from a verb, having the senses of: (a) "doing (the verbal action)", and/or (b) "prone/tending to do (the verbal action)".
    ascendascendant
    errerrant.
  4. Alternative form of -and
    blatant, blicant; flippant, old-farrant

Usage notes

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  • Many words in -ant were not actually coined in English but rather borrowed directly from Old French, Middle French or Modern French.

Derived terms

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Anagrams

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Danish

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Etymology

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From Latin -ans.

Pronunciation

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Suffix

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-ant c

  1. Forms agent nouns, mostly from verbs of Romance or Latin origin
  2. something that is or happens in a certain way (adjectives. E.g. arrogant)

Declension

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Declension of -ant
common
gender
singular plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative -ant -anten -anter -anterne
genitive -ants -antens -anters -anternes

Derived terms

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Dutch

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Etymology

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(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ɑnt/
  • Audio:(file)

Suffix

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-ant m (plural -anten, feminine -ante)

  1. appended to the stem of a verb, it yields a noun which signifies the subject who performs the action of that verb (see agent noun)

Derived terms

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French

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Etymology

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    Inherited from Old French -ant, from Latin -antem, -entem. Compare Italian -ante, -ente, Spanish -ante, -ente, -iente.

    Pronunciation

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    Suffix

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    -ant (invariable)

    1. -ing; suffix denoting the gerund and present participle of a verb
      jouer (to play) + ‎-ant → ‎jouant (playing)

    Suffix

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    -ant (feminine -ante, masculine plural -ants, feminine plural -antes)

    1. -ant, -ing; forms adjectives out of verbs
    2. (rare) forms adjectives from words other than verbs
      abracadabra + ‎-ant → ‎abracadabrant

    Suffix

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    -ant m (plural -ants, feminine -ante)

    1. -er; forms nouns out of verbs

    Usage notes

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    • French present participles are used, chiefly in literary style, to replace relative clauses. In this case they are not inflected for number and gender: une femme aimant ses enfants (a woman loving her children), equivalent to une femme qui aime ses enfants (a woman who loves her children).
    • Some present participles can also be used as actual adjectives. In this case they are inflected: une femme aimante (a loving/caring woman). Such adjectival uses are lexicalised, however, and (unlike in English) not all participles allow it.
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    German

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    Alternative forms

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    • -ent
    • -ans (learned terms only, usually neuter)

    Etymology

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    From Middle High German -ant, from Latin -ans, -antis, in part through Old French -ant.

    Pronunciation

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    Suffix

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    -ant m (weak, genitive -anten, plural -anten, feminine -antin)

    1. Forms agent nouns, mostly from verbs of Romance or Latin origin.
      liefern (to supply) + ‎-ant → ‎Lieferant (supplier)

    Usage notes

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    Declension

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    Derived terms

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    Further reading

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    • -ant” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
    • -ant” in Duden online

    Hungarian

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    Etymology

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    From -a- (linking vowel) +‎ -n (instantaneous suffix) +‎ -t (causative suffix).[1]

    Pronunciation

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    Suffix

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    -ant

    1. (instantaneous suffix) Added to a stem - often an onomatopoeia - to form a verb expressing an instantaneous action.
      pillant (to glance)

    Usage notes

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    • (instantaneous suffix) Variants:
      -ant is added to back-vowel words
      -ent is added to front-vowel words

    Derived terms

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    See also

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    References

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    1. ^ -ant in Zaicz, Gábor (ed.). Etimológiai szótár: Magyar szavak és toldalékok eredete (‘Dictionary of Etymology: The origin of Hungarian words and affixes’). Budapest: Tinta Könyvkiadó, 2006, →ISBN.  (See also its 2nd edition.)

    Latin

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    Etymology

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    From Proto-Italic *-ānt, from Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yónti.

    Pronunciation

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    Suffix

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    -ant

    1. third-person plural present active indicative of (first conjugation)

    Descendants

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    • Old Galician-Portuguese: -an
      • Galician: -an
      • Portuguese: -am
    • Spanish: -an

    Middle French

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    Etymology

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    (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.) From Latin -āns, -ēns.

    Suffix

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    -ant

    1. used to form the present participle of verbs

    Old French

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    Etymology

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      From Latin -āns, -ēns.

      Suffix

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      -ant

      1. used to form the present participle of verbs
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      Descendants

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      Polish

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      Etymology

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        Borrowed from French -ant.

        Pronunciation

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        • IPA(key): /ant/
        • Audio:(file)
        • Rhymes: -ant
        • Syllabification: [please specify syllabification manually]

        Suffix

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        -ant m pers

        1. -ant (agent noun derived from verb)
          kurs + ‎-ant → ‎kursant

        Declension

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        Derived terms

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        Further reading

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        • -ant in Polish dictionaries at PWN

        Welsh

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        Pronunciation

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        Etymology 1

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        Cognate with Cornish -ans.

        Alternative forms

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        Suffix

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        -ant m (plural -annau)

        1. show the action of a verb or its result, -tion, -ment
          maddau (to forgive) + ‎-ant → ‎maddeuant (forgiveness)

        Etymology 2

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        Suffix

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        -ant

        1. (literary) verb suffix for the third-person plural present indicative/future
        Derived terms
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