-anus

See also: anus, Anus, ânus, añus, and anüs

Latin

Alternative forms

-ēnus, -iānus, -īnus, -ūnus

Etymology

From some -ā- stem + -nus; later interpreted as one whole suffix and used freely.

Pronunciation

(Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈaː.nus/, [ˈäːnʊs̠]
(modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈa.nus/, [ˈäːnus]

Suffix

-ānus (feminine -āna, neuter -ānum); first/second-declension suffix

Of or pertaining to; -ian; usually indicates a relationship of position, possession, or origin.

Usage notes

The suffix -ānus is typically added to a noun stem (particularly proper nouns) to form an adjective.

Examples:

mōns (“mountain”) → montānus (“montane, of the mountains”)

Christus (“Christ”) → christiānus (“christian”)

Many such words, however, can be either nouns or adjectives.

Examples:

pāgus (“village”) → pāgānus (“rustic, of a village”), or a villager

Rōma (“Rome”) → rōmānus (“Roman”), or a person from Rome

-ānus is also often used to form personal names, particularly cognomina, from other names, denoting a patronymic or another relationship of belonging: Domitius → Domitiānus.

It is frequently preceded by the noun stem followed by -i- except in the case of Latin nouns (typically borrowed from Greek) ending -e- or -ae-, where it is preceded by -e- instead.

	masculine	feminine	neuter	masculine	feminine	neuter
	singular			plural
nominative	-ānus	-āna	-ānum	-ānī	-ānae	-āna
genitive	-ānī	-ānae	-ānī	-ānōrum	-ānārum	-ānōrum
dative	-ānō	-ānae	-ānō	-ānīs
accusative	-ānum	-ānam	-ānum	-ānōs	-ānās	-āna
ablative	-ānō	-ānā	-ānō	-ānīs
vocative	-āne	-āna	-ānum	-ānī	-ānae	-āna

-anus

Latin

Alternative forms

Etymology

Pronunciation

Suffix

Usage notes

Declension

Synonyms

Derived terms

Descendants