־ן

See also: ן, ן׳, and נ

Hebrew

Etymology

Cognate with Arabic ـَان (-ān). (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.).

Suffix

־ָן • (-án)

1. -er: forming nouns denoting one with a certain characteristic.
   1. With the characteristic being a behavior or personality trait.

      שקרן ― shakrán ― a liar

      עצלן ― atslán ― a lazy person

   2. With the characteristic being a profession or other activity.

      שדכן ― shadkhán ― a matchmaker

      שחקן ― sakhkán ― a player or an actor

   3. With the characteristic being something else.

      צבען ― tsiv'án ― a pigment

      תיקן ― tikán ― a cockroach

2. -ium: forming names of chemical elements.

   חמצן ― khamtsán ― oxygen

Derived terms

Derived terms: one with a certain behavior or personality trait.

• גיזען (giz'án, “a racist”)
• דאגן (da'agán, “a worry wart”)
• עצלן (atslán, “a lazy person”)
• שקרן (shakrán, “a liar”)

Derived terms: one with a certain profession or other activity.

• דַּגְלָן (daglán, “a flag-bearer”)
• יחצן (yakhtsán, “a publicist”)
• כדורגלן (kaduraglán, “a football (soccer) player”)
• כדורסלן (kadursalán, “a basketball player”)
• ליצן (leitsán, “a clown”)
• סַפְרָן (safrán, “a librarian”)
• שדכן (shadkhán, “a matchmaker”)
• שחיין (sakhyán, “a swimmer”)
• שחקן (sakhkán, “a player or an actor”)

Derived terms: one with a certain other characteristic.

• צבען (tsiv'án, “a pigment”)
• תיקן (tikán, “a cockroach”)

Derived terms: a chemical element.

• חמצן (khamtsán, “oxygen”)
• חמרן (khamrán, “aluminum”)
• חנקן (khankán, “nitrogen”)
• סידן (sidán, “calcium”)
• פחמן (pakhmán, “carbon”)

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Yiddish

Etymology 1

From Middle High German -en, a merger of various terminations in Old High German reflecting different conjugational patterns, namely -an, -ien, -on, -en, and -non, respectively from Proto-Germanic *-aną, *-janą, *-ōną, *-āną, and *-naną.

Suffix

־ן • (-n)

1. The infinitive marker for verbs, which can be appended to a noun or adjective that means X to create a verb that means "to make X" or "to do X"

Derived terms

Yiddish terms suffixed with ־ן

Etymology 2

Compare German -en, Dutch -en.

Suffix

־ן • (-n)

1. A plural marker for regular nouns not ending in an unstressed ־ר (-r), ־ם (-m), ־ן (-n), or a vowel.

See also

• ־ס (-s)

Etymology 3

A merger of the nasal inflectional endings of nouns and adjectives of Middle High German: -en, -em.

Suffix

־ן • (-n)

1. Used to indicate the dative and accusative in the masculine form of adjectives and masculine declined nouns, and the dative in the neuter form of adjectives and feminine declined nouns.

Etymology 4

From Hebrew ־ָן (-án).

Suffix

־ן • (-n) m, plural ־נים (-onem)

1. Used to form nouns denoting people of a certain profession or who perform certain habitual actions.

Etymology 5

Suffix

־ן • (-n)

1. Regular termination of the first-person plural present indicative form of verbs.
2. Regular termination of the third-person plural present indicative form of verbs.