-ien

See also: ien and iëŋ

Contents

Breton

Etymology

Cognate to Welsh -ion, Cornish -yon.

Suffix

-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

► Breton words suffixed with -ien

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French

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /jɛ̃/

Suffix

-ien m (feminine -ienne)

1. Denotes where something or someone is from; -ian.

   Paris → parisien (“Parisian”)

   Californie → californien (“Californian”)

Derived terms

► French words suffixed with -ien

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German

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /i̯ən/, [i.ən], [jən]

• Audio

  (file)

Etymology 1

From Middle High German -ie, -je, from Latin -ia (feminine singular).

Suffix

-ien n

1. Used to form country names; -ia

Etymology 2

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

-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

• 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).

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Middle French

Examples
Patricien

Etymology

From Old French -ien, from Latin -iānus

Suffix

-ien (feminine equivalent -ienne)

1. -ian

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Old French

Examples
Surgien Citeien

Etymology

From Latin -iānus, from -ānus.

Suffix

-ien (feminine equivalent -iene or -ienne)

1. -ian

Descendants

• Middle French: -ien
  • French: -ien