-en

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See also: Appendix:Variations of "en"

English[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

  • (usually) IPA(key): /ən/, /n̩/
  • Audio (Southern England)(file)
  • In many accents, -en routinely gives up its vowel syllable when given additional suffixes. For example, fatten /ˈfæt.n̩/ + -ing /-ɪŋ/ can be /ˈfæt.n̩.ɪŋ/ or /ˈfæt.nɪŋ/.
    • Even in many accents where this habitual syllable deletion is less usual, the syllable loss may still predominate for certain inflections that have become common words in their own right, such as gardener /ɡɑː(ɹ)d.nə(ɹ)/.
    • Syllable loss may be habitually prevented to avoid merging with more deeply entrenched inflections, such as for keeping the generic inflection lightening /ˈlaɪt.n̩.ɪŋ/ from being pronounced identically to the established term lightning /ˈlaɪt.nɪŋ/ (notice the e is no longer written), even if they both independently derived from a combination of lighten + -ing.
      • But syllable loss may resume with inflections that are not in danger of merging with an established word, such as enlightening, which can be pronounced /ɛnˈlaɪt.n̩.ɪŋ/ or /ɛnˈlaɪt.nɪŋ/ because enlightning is not a common word.

Etymology 1[edit]

From Middle English -n, -en, past participle ending of strong verbs (compare Middle English take(n), took, taken (“take, took, taken”)), from Old Norse -inn, past participle ending of strong verbs (compare Old Norse taka, tók, tekinn (“take, took, taken”)). From Proto-Norse *-ᛁᚾᚨ- (*-ina-), from Proto-Germanic *-inaz, a variant of *-anaz. Replaced the native past participle ending of strong verbs (from Old English -en) in some words, which had weakened to -e or disappeared (compare Southern Middle English do(n), dud(e), ydo (“do, did, done”)), but not in others (compare cume(n), com, ycume (“come, came, come”)), from Proto-Germanic *-anaz, from Proto-Indo-European *-nós.

Alternative forms[edit]

Suffix[edit]

-en

  1. (no longer productive) Denotes the past participle form when attached to a verb.
    ‎take + ‎-en → ‎taken
    ‎forgive + ‎-en → ‎forgiven
    ‎prove + ‎-en → ‎proven
  2. Denotes a quasi-past participle or participle-like adjective when attached to a noun or verb.
    ‎fork + ‎-en → ‎forken (“forked”)
    ‎pave + ‎-en → ‎paven (“paved”)
    ‎barefoot + ‎-en → ‎bare-footen (“bare-footed”)
    ‎enslave + ‎-en → ‎enslaven (“enslaved”)
Usage notes[edit]

Some linguistic writing on English, such as The Oxford Dictionary of English Grammar, uses -en as the name of an abstract morpheme which forms the past participle of all English verbs, even those which do not actually contain the suffix -en, such as cook + -en → cooked.

Derived terms[edit]
past participle

Etymology 2[edit]

From Middle English -en, from Old English -an, from Proto-Germanic *-an-, *-in-, from Proto-Indo-European *-én-.

From Middle English -n (in words ending in a vowel: flee: fleen "flea: fleas") and -en. Noun plural marker (predominantly in Southern dialects of Middle English), from Old English nominative-accusative plural ending of weak nouns (n-stem declension); compare ‎nama m (“name”) + ‎-en → ‎naman (“names”); ‎hlǣfdīġe f (“lady”) + ‎-en → ‎hlǣfdīġan (“ladies”); ‎ēare n (“ear”) + ‎-en → ‎ēaran (“ears”). Assisted by Middle English dative plural ending -n, -en from late O.E. -un, -on, weakened form of earlier -um. Akin to Old High German n-stem (compare namo: namon "name: names"), Latin n-stem (compare homo: homin-).

Suffix[edit]

-en

  2. Used to denote the plural form of a small number of English nouns, the majority of whose etymologies go back to the n-stem (i.e. weak noun) declension of Germanic languages.
    Examples in general modern use:
    ‎aurochs + ‎-en → ‎aurochsen[1]
    ‎brother + ‎-en → ‎brethren (religious sense)[1]
    ‎child + ‎-en → ‎children (cf. childer)[1]
    ‎ox + ‎-en → ‎oxen[1]
    Archaic examples:
    ‎bee + ‎-en → ‎been
    ‎cheese + ‎-en → ‎cheesen
    ‎ky (“cow”) + ‎-en → ‎kine
    ‎knee + ‎-en → ‎kneen
    ‎ey + ‎-en → ‎eyren
    ‎eye + ‎-en → ‎eyen
    ‎horse + ‎-en → ‎horsen
    ‎hose + ‎-en → ‎hosen
    ‎house + ‎-en → ‎housen
    ‎pease + ‎-en → ‎peasen
    ‎shoe + ‎-en → ‎shoon
    ‎sister + ‎-en → ‎sistren
    ‎tree + ‎-en → ‎treen
    • 1890, John Drummond Robertson, lord Henry Haughton Reynolds Moreton, A Glossary of Dialect & Archaic Words Used in the County of Gloucester:
      Moder, gyn, will not y washen' the dishen'. i. Mother, Jone, will not wash the dishes.
  3. (nonstandard, rare, often humorous) Used to form the plural of nouns.
    ‎box + ‎-en → ‎boxen
    • 2007, James Patrick Kelly, John Kessel, Rewired: The Post-Cyberpunk Anthology:
      There was one other user logged in, “scaredy,” and he checked the process monitor and saw that scaredy had spawned all the hundreds of processes that were probing him and plenty of other boxen.
    • 2012, Jenny Lawson, Let's Pretend This Never Happened:
      Victor and I are having a huge argument about whether or not to feed the foxen. Victor says yes, because they're adorable and— according to the neighbors—are quite tame. I say no, because we have a fat little pug who likes to frolic outside occasionally and I don't want to see him eaten. I thought we were on the same page about the fox, but then Victor went and threw an apple at it. And I was all, “What the fuck? We don't feed the foxen,” and he said, “I was throwing the apple at it to chase it away,” but Victor is a tremendous liar, and he didn't go to pick up the apple, probably because he knows that foxen love apple cider.
    • 2015, David Greygoose, Brunt Boggart:
      For now the boys grew whiskers and hung fox pelts from their shoulders and the girlen all wore scarlet skirts and braided ribbons through their hair.
Usage notes[edit]
  • Seldom productive, outside of occasional humorous use, particularly in computer hacker subculture. Notable examples are boxen, Unixen, VAXen.
  • This ending is also found on some plurals that were borrowed intact from Dutch or German, like klompen, lagerstätten, lederhosen.
Derived terms[edit]
plural

Etymology 3[edit]

From Middle English -(e)nen, -(e)nien, from Old English -nian, from Proto-Germanic *-inōną. Cognate with Danish -ne, Swedish -na, Icelandic -na.

Suffix[edit]

-en

  2. When attached to certain adjectives, it forms a transitive verb whose meaning is, to make (adjective). Usually, the verb is ergative, sometimes not. The same construction could also be done to certain (fewer) nouns, as, strengthen, in which case the verb means roughly, "to give (noun) to", or "to become like (noun)".
    ‎white (adjective) + ‎-en → ‎whiten
    ‎quick + ‎-en → ‎quicken
    ‎strength (noun) + ‎-en → ‎strengthen
    ‎haste + ‎-en → ‎hasten
    ‎night + ‎-en → ‎nighten
Usage notes[edit]
  • Although -en is a very common verb ending, it is not currently very productive in forming new words, being mostly restricted to monosyllabic bases which end in an obstruent; new formations tend to be nonstandard or humorous.
Derived terms[edit]
English terms suffixed with -en (inchoative)
Translations[edit]

Etymology 4[edit]

From Middle English -en, from Old English -en, from Proto-Germanic *-īnaz; suffix meaning "made of, consisting of, having the qualities of" applied to nouns to form adjectives. Akin to Dutch -en, German -en, Icelandic -inn, Latin -īnus. See -ine.

Alternative forms[edit]

Suffix[edit]

-en

  2. Suffix meaning "pertaining to", "having the qualities of", "resembling", "like".
    ‎elf + ‎-en → ‎elfin
    ‎wolf + ‎-en → ‎wolven
    ‎peach + ‎-en → ‎peachen
    ‎goat + ‎-en → ‎goaten
  4. When attached to certain nouns that are the names of a material, it forms an adjective whose meaning is, made of (noun). This is a formative pattern with many obsolescent remnants. Fowler (1926) pointed out the tendency for the -en forms to be restricted to metaphorical and secondary senses. Changes in the form of the root noun, and the dropping of the "e" in the suffix occur. There are also orphan formations whose root has been lost to the current language.
    Current examples used in a literal and sometimes metaphorical sense:
    ‎wood + ‎-en → ‎wooden
    ‎gold + ‎-en → ‎golden
    ‎wheat + ‎-en → ‎wheaten
    ‎oat + ‎-en → ‎oaten
    ‎silk + ‎-en → ‎silken
    ‎earth + ‎-en → ‎earthen
    ‎flax + ‎-en → ‎flaxen
    ‎lead + ‎-en → ‎leaden
    ‎wool + ‎-en → ‎woollen
    ‎oak + ‎-en → ‎oaken
    Examples where a metaphorical sense is common but the literal sense is rare or archaic:
    ‎brass + ‎-en → ‎brazen ("shameless")
    Rare or archaic examples:
    ‎ash + ‎-en → ‎ashen ("made of ash-tree wood"; ashen "grey like ashes, appalled" is still current)
    ‎box + ‎-en → ‎boxen ("made of boxwood")
    ‎bronze + ‎-en → ‎bronzen
    ‎silver + ‎-en → ‎silvern
    ‎cedar + ‎-en → ‎cedarn
    ‎leather + ‎-en → ‎leathern
    ‎copper + ‎-en → ‎coppern
    ‎paper + ‎-en → ‎papern
    ‎brick + ‎-en → ‎bricken
    ‎board + ‎-en → ‎boarden
    ‎tree + ‎-en → ‎treen
    ‎hemp + ‎-en → ‎hempen
    Orphan examples:
    ‎line (“flax”) + ‎-en → ‎linen
Derived terms[edit]
English terms suffixed with -en (made of)

Etymology 5[edit]

From Middle English -en, from Old English -en, from the neuter form of -en4.

Suffix[edit]

-en

  2. Used to form the diminutives of certain nouns.
    ‎chick + ‎-en → ‎chicken
    ‎maid + ‎-en → ‎maiden
    ‎smitch, smidge + ‎-en → ‎smidgen
Derived terms[edit]
English terms suffixed with -en (diminutive noun)

See also[edit]

Etymology 6[edit]

From Middle English -en, a blending of Old English infinitives -an and -n, from Proto-Germanic *-aną; and Old English -on and -en, the indicative and subjunctive past tense plural endings of verbs.

Suffix[edit]

-en

  2. (obsolete) Used to form the infinitive of verbs.
  4. (obsolete) Used to form the plural present tense of verbs.
Usage notes[edit]
  • Having begun to fade by the 15th century, it was used in Early Modern English primarily to show archaic or rustic speech.
  • The weakening and loss of the marker caused some verbs to blend with verbs marked by Etymology 3; for example, Middle English leren (“to teach”) blended with lernen (“to learn”), which resulted in learn having a (dialectal) double meaning.

References[edit]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language by David Crystal (1995, Cambridge University Press, →ISBN), page 200

Anagrams[edit]

Basque[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

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

Suffix[edit]

-en

  1. Used to form the superlative form of adjectives.
    ‎handi (“big”) + ‎-en → ‎handien (“biggest”)
    ‎zahar (“old”) + ‎-en → ‎zaharren (“oldest”)
Derived terms[edit]
Category Basque terms suffixed with -en not found

Etymology 2[edit]

Suffix[edit]

-en

  1. Used to form the plural genitive of nouns and adjectives.
    ‎ahizpa (“sister”) + ‎-en → ‎ahizpen (“of the sisters, the sisters'”)
  2. Used to form the indefinite genitive of nouns and adjectives ending in a consonant.
    ‎txakur (“dog”) + ‎-en → ‎txakurren (“of some dogs, some dogs'”)

Etymology 3[edit]

Conjunction[edit]

-en

  1. Alternative form of -n.

Chuukese[edit]

Etymology[edit]

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

Suffix[edit]

-en

  1. of

Synonyms[edit]

Danish[edit]

Etymology[edit]

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

Suffix[edit]

-en

  1. Forms the singular definite form of nouns of the common gender.
  2. Forms gerunds from verbs, these nouns being indeclinable and of the common gender.
  3. (organic chemistry) Identifies an alkene, these being of either the common or the neuter gender; -ene.
  4. (obsolete) Forms adverbs from adjectives, now displaced by -t.
    hjerteligen, antageligen

Usage notes[edit]

  • If the noun from which the singular definite is formed already ends in an unstressed schwa, this is not doubled: kage, kagen (but if the -e is stressed, a schwa is appended normally: ske, skeen; allé, alléen). If it ends with a consonant and the last vowel is short, the last consonant is usually doubled in native and nativized words, if it is one of {k, l, m, n, p, s, t}: hat, hatten. This is however not a reliable rule.

Derived terms[edit]

Danish terms suffixed with -en

Dutch[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /ə(n)/
  • In most regions the final -n is silent except optionally in enunciation and as a hiatus breaker before a (typically unstressed) vowel in the following word. In western Belgium and parts of the north-eastern Netherlands, however, the /n/ is commonly sounded and may become syllabic [m̩], [n̩], [ŋ̍] (as in German, see below).

Etymology 1[edit]

Primarily from weak class 2, from Middle Dutch -en, from Old Dutch -on, from Proto-Germanic *-ōną, from Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti (denominative) and *-h₂ti (factitive).

Suffix[edit]

-en

  2. Forms verbs from nouns and adjectives. The stem of the word itself does not change.
Inflection[edit]

For verb stems ending in a voiced consonant:

Inflection of -en (weak)
infinitive -en
past singular -de
past participle ge- -d
infinitive -en
gerund -en n
present tense past tense
1st person singular - -de
2nd person sing. (jij) -t -de
2nd person sing. (u) -t -de
2nd person sing. (gij) -t -de
3rd person singular -t -de
plural -en -den
subjunctive sing.1 -e -de
subjunctive plur.1 -en -den
imperative sing. -
imperative plur.1 -t
participles -end ge- -d
1) Archaic.

For verb stems ending in a voiceless consonant:

Inflection of -en (weak)
infinitive -en
past singular -te
past participle ge- -t
infinitive -en
gerund -en n
present tense past tense
1st person singular - -te
2nd person sing. (jij) -t -te
2nd person sing. (u) -t -te
2nd person sing. (gij) -t -te
3rd person singular -t -te
plural -en -ten
subjunctive sing.1 -e -te
subjunctive plur.1 -en -ten
imperative sing. -
imperative plur.1 -t
participles -end ge- -t
1) Archaic.
Derived terms[edit]
Dutch terms suffixed with -en (denominative)

Etymology 2[edit]

From Middle Dutch -ijn, -in, -en, from Old Dutch *-īn, from Proto-Germanic *-īnaz.

Suffix[edit]

-en

  2. Forms adjectives that indicate the substance from which something is made.
Inflection[edit]
Inflection of -en
uninflected -en
inflected -en
comparative —
positive
predicative/adverbial
indefinite m./f. sing. -en
n. sing. -en
plural -en
definite -en
partitive
Derived terms[edit]
Dutch terms suffixed with -en (substance)

Etymology 3[edit]

From Middle Dutch -en, a merger of various Old Dutch infinitive suffixes:

Suffix[edit]

-en

  1. Ending of the infinitive form of verbs.

Etymology 4[edit]

From Middle Dutch -en, from Old Dutch -an, from Proto-Germanic *-anaz, from Proto-Indo-European *-nós.

Suffix[edit]

-en

  1. The ending of the past participle of strong verbs. This can also function as an adjective.
Inflection[edit]
Inflection of -en
uninflected -en
inflected -en
comparative -ener
positive comparative superlative
predicative/adverbial -en -ener het -enst
het -enste
indefinite m./f. sing. -en -ener -enste
n. sing. -en -ener -enste
plural -en -ener -enste
definite -en -ener -enste
partitive -ens -eners —

Etymology 5[edit]

From various case forms of the Germanic weak nominal inflection.

Suffix[edit]

-en

  1. The ending of the plural form of many nouns.
  2. Taken by adjectives used as nouns, to form the plural form of such nouns.
    ‎groot + ‎-en → ‎de groten (“the great ones”)
  3. (archaic, not productive) The ending of a number of weak case endings of the adjective or the article.
    ‎een + ‎-en → ‎ten enen male
  4. (archaic, not productive) The ending of the genitive case of certain nouns.
    ‎de hertog + ‎-en → ‎des hertogen, a genitive preserved in 's-Hertogenbosch

Etymology 6[edit]

From various first- and third-person plural forms of Germanic verbs.

Suffix[edit]

-en

  1. The ending of the plural forms of verbs, in both present and past tense.

Etymology 7[edit]

From Old Dutch -ana, from Proto-Germanic *-anē.

Suffix[edit]

-en

  1. A suffix present on certain adverbs.
    ‎voor + ‎-en → ‎van voren (“from the front”)

Emilian[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Pronoun[edit]

-en (adverbial)

  1. (enclitic, after a consonant) Alternative form of in
    Mānjen un pōk! ― Eat some of it! (imperative, singular)

Finnish[edit]

Suffix[edit]

-en

  1. Suffix variant for the illative singular, see -Vn.
  2. Suffix for the genitive plural. Usually preceded by the plural marker -i- or -j-, but may also have a consonant separator -d- after the plural marker if the words would otherwise have 3 consecutive vowels.
  3. (personal) Forms the impersonal potential present forms of verbs, appended to the infinitive, followed by the potential mood marker -ne-.
    Verbs with a consonant stem (ending in -hda/-hdä, -lla/-llä, -nna/-nnä, -rra/-rrä, -sta/-stä, -ta/-tä in the citation form) are followed by -ta-, the mood marker -ne- and -en.
    juosta, consonant stem juos- + -ta- + -ne- + -en → juostaneen
    mennä, consonant stem men- + -tä- + -ne- + -en → mentäneen
    nähdä, consonant stem näh- + -tä- + -ne- + -en → nähtäneen
    palella, consonant stem palel- + -ta- + -ne- + -en → paleltaneen
    haluta, consonant stem halut- + -ta- + -ne- + -en → haluttaneen
    In verbs ending in -ea/-eä, -oa/-öä, -ua/-yä, the verb stem in the weak grade is followed by -tta-/-ttä, the mood marker -ne- and then by this.
    laskea, stem laske- + -tta- + -ne- + -en → laskettaneen
    iskeä, stem iske- + -ttä- + -ne- + -en → iskettäneen
    sanoa, stem sano- + -tta- + -ne- + -en → sanottaneen
    kertoa, stem ker- + -to- → -ro- + -tta + -en → kerrottaneen
    huolestua, stem huolestu- + -tta- + -ne- + -en → huolestuttaneen
    saapua, stem saa- + -pu- → -vu- + -tta- + -ne- + -en → saavuttaneen
    säilöä, stem säilö- + -ttä- + -ne- + -en → säilöttäneen
    säilyä, stem säily- + -ttä- + -ne- + -en → säilyttäneen
    häipyä, stem häi- + -py- → -vy- + -ttä- + -ne- + -en → häivyttäneen
    In verbs ending in -aa/-ää or -ea/-eä, the beginning stem is followed by -etta-, the mood marker -ne- and then by this — consonant gradation occurs.
    paistaa, stem paist- + -etta- + -ne- + -en → paistettaneen
    laittaa, stem lait- (another t disappears) + -etta- + -ne- + -en → laitettaneen
    vaihtaa, stem vaih- + -t- → -d- + -etta- + -en- → vaihdettaneen
  4. (possessive) A variant for the third-person possessive suffixes -nsa and -nsä, see the usage notes below.

Usage notes[edit]

  • (third-person possessive suffix variant) When the third-person possessive suffix -nsa/-nsä is appended to nouns that are in singular and plural allative and translative and plural comitative, the S and A/Ä are very often omitted from the suffix and the last E of the case suffix preceding the remaining N is doubled — resulting in this -en. In standard Finnish, both the "full" form and the shortened form are acceptable. This same omission takes very often place also in the long first infinitives, used in a shortened sentence expressing "(in order) to do" (see the meanings of -nsa and -nsä):
Singular
(allat.) kirjallensa → kirjalleen
(trans.) kirjaksensa → kirjakseen
Plural
(allat.) kirjoillensa → kirjoilleen
(trans.) kirjoiksensa → kirjoikseen
(comit.) kirjoinensa → kirjoineen

Anagrams[edit]

German[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

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

Alternative forms[edit]

  • -n (after -er, -el; in Herrn, sein, tun, and some dated/poetic/colloquial forms such as gehn, stehn)
  • -'n (alternatively in the dated/poetic/colloquial forms)

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /ən/
    • IPA(key): [ən] (possible in all contexts, but rare in most regions)
    • IPA(key): [m̩] (after labial stops and sometimes labial nasals and fricatives)
    • IPA(key): [ŋ̍] (after velar stops and sometimes velar nasals and fricatives)
    • IPA(key): [l̩n] (with -l- after a full vowel)
    • IPA(key): [ɐn] (with -r- after a full vowel)
    • IPA(key): [n̩] (otherwise)

Suffix[edit]

-en

  1. A suffix of verbs in their infinitive form.
    Accordingly, the suffix is also applied to verbs borrowed from other languages, and may be understood as the suffix for denominal verbs in general (actually -∅ derivation or conversion plus an inflectional suffix that happens to be part of the citation form of a German verb).
    ‎Foul + ‎-en → ‎foulen (“to foul”)
    managen ― to manage
  2. A suffix indicating the 1st and 3rd person plural forms (except the present indicative sind of sein).
    wir kommen ― we arrive
    sie kommen ― they arrive
  3. A suffix appended to strong verb stems to form the past participle, usually together with ge-.
    fallen + ge- and -en → gefallen

Etymology 2[edit]

From Middle High German -en, a merger of various terminations in Old High German reflecting different declensional patterns.

Alternative forms[edit]

  • -n (after -er, -el in nouns, but not usually in adjectives)

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /ən/ (variants as in etymology 1)

Suffix[edit]

-en

  1. A suffix appended to some nouns in all of their plural forms. These nouns are so-called “weak” or “mixed” nouns; they are most often feminine, often masculine, rarely neuter.
  2. A suffix appended to weak masculine nouns in all oblique cases of the singular, and to some mixed nouns in the singular dative and accusative
  3. A suffix appended to most other nouns, the so-called “strong” nouns, in their plural dative
  4. A suffix (in fact, the most common declensional ending) which is appended to determiners, adjectives, and participles, for multiple forms of all grammatical cases, both singular and plural.
See also[edit]

Etymology 3[edit]

From Middle High German -en, from Old High German -īn, from Proto-Germanic *-īnaz.

Alternative forms[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /ən/ (variants as in etymology 1)

Suffix[edit]

-en

  2. A suffix which is used to create adjectives that most often refer to materials
    ‎Gold (“gold”, noun) + ‎-en → ‎golden (“gold, golden”, adjective)

Etymology 4[edit]

From the Ancient Greek -ηνός (-ēnós) feminine patronymic suffix.

Pronunciation[edit]

Suffix[edit]

-en

  1. (chemistry) -ene (alkene suffix)

Derived terms[edit]

German terms suffixed with -en
Category German verbs suffixed with -en not found
German adjectives suffixed with -en

Hungarian[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

Pronominal adverbs from case suffixes (cf. postpositions)
ed suffix who? what? this that he/she
(it)*
case v. pr. c.
nom. – ki mi ez az ő* / -∅
az / -∅		 – –
acc. -t / -ot /
-at / -et / -öt		 kit mit ezt azt őt* / -∅
azt / -∅		 – c1
c2
dat. -nak / -nek kinek minek ennek annak neki neki- c
ins. -val / -vel kivel mivel ezzel/
evvel		 azzal/
avval		 vele c
c-f. -ért kiért miért ezért azért érte – c
tra. -vá / -vé kivé mivé ezzé azzá – – c
ter. -ig – meddig eddig addig – – c
e-f. -ként (kiként) (miként) ekként akként – – c
e-m. -ul / -ül – – – – – – c
ine. -ban / -ben kiben miben ebben abban benne – c
sup. -n/-on/-en/-ön kin min ezen azon rajta (rajta-) c
ade. -nál / -nél kinél minél ennél annál nála – c
ill. -ba / -be kibe mibe ebbe abba bele bele- c
sub. -ra / -re kire mire erre arra rá rá- c
all. -hoz/-hez/-höz kihez mihez ehhez ahhoz hozzá hozzá- c
el. -ból / -ből kiből miből ebből abból belőle – c
del. -ról / -ről kiről miről erről arról róla – c
abl. -tól / -től kitől mitől ettől attól tőle – c
*: Ő and őt refer to human beings; the forms below them might be
construed likewise. – Forms in parentheses are uncommon. All »

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

Suffix[edit]

-en

  2. (case suffix) on. Used to form the superessive case.
    szék (“chair”) → széken (“on the chair”)
Usage notes[edit]
  • (case suffix) Harmonic variants:
    -n is added to words ending in a vowel. Final -a changes to -á-. Final -e changes to -é-.
    -on is added to back-vowel words ending in a consonant
    -en is added to unrounded front-vowel words ending in a consonant
    -ön is added to rounded front-vowel words ending in a consonant
   Hungarian case suffixes
Case Back vowel
a, á, o, ó, u, ú 		Front vowel
unrounded
e, é, i, í 		rounded
ö, ő, ü, ű
nominative —
accusative -t
-ot / -at -et -öt
dative -nak -nek
instrumental -val -vel
causal-final -ért
translative -vá -vé
terminative -ig
essive-formal -ként
essive-modal -ul -ül
inessive -ban -ben
superessive -n
-on -en -ön
adessive -nál -nél
illative -ba -be
sublative -ra -re
allative -hoz -hez -höz
elative -ból -ből
delative -ról -ről
ablative -tól -től
Note for all endings:
Stem-final -a/-e changes to -á-/-é-, respectively, except -ként.
    alma — almában, but almaként
    zene ― zenében, but zeneként

See also[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

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

Suffix[edit]

-en

  2. (deadjectival adverb suffix) Added to an adjective to create an adverb.
    szép (“beautiful”) → szépen (“beautifully”)
    könnyű (“light, easy”) → könnyen (“easily”)
    bő (“ample”) → bőven (“amply”)
    hű (“faithful”) → híven (“faithfully”), aside from the regular hűen
  4. (denumeral and depronominal adverb suffix) Added to a numeral or a pronoun with this sense to create an adverb, expressing the number of people.
    kettő (“two”) → ketten (“two people, two of us/you/them”)
    Ketten vannak a szobában. ― There are two people in the room.
    öt (“five”) → öten (“five people, five of us/you/them”)
    hét (“seven”) → heten (“seven people, seven of us/you/them”)
    Heten mentünk moziba. ― Seven of us went to the cinema.
    kevés (“few”) → kevesen (“few people, few of us/you/them”)
    Sokan vannak a meghívottak, de kevesen a választottak. ― For many are called, but few are chosen.
    ezer (“thousand”) → ezren (“a thousand people, a thousand of us/you/them”)
Usage notes[edit]
  • (deadjectival adverb-forming suffix) Harmonic variants:
    -n is added to words ending in a vowel. Final -a changes to -á-. Final -e changes to -é-.
    -an is added to most back-vowel words ending in a consonant
    -on is added to some back-vowel words ending in a consonant
    -en is added to front-vowel words ending in a consonant, as well as some front-vowel words ending in a vowel. Their original word-final vowel may be lost (e.g. könnyű) or supplemented with a consonant (e.g. bő, hű).
  • (denumeral and depronominal adverb-forming suffix) Harmonic variants:
    -n is added to some (very few) words ending in a vowel. Final -a changes to -á-. Final -e changes to -é-.
    -an is added to back-vowel words ending in a consonant
    -en is added to front-vowel words ending in a consonant, as well as some front-vowel words ending in a vowel. Their original word-final vowel may be lost (e.g. kettő).
Derived terms[edit]
Hungarian adverbs suffixed with -en

Etymology 3[edit]

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

Suffix[edit]

-en

  2. Added to a stem — often an onomatopoeia — to form a verb expressing an instantaneous action.
    reccsen (“to crackle, to make one cracking sound”)
    retten (“to be frightened, to recoil, to flinch, to shy away from”)
Usage notes[edit]
  • Harmonic variants:
    -on is added to some back-vowel words
    -an is added to back-vowel words
    -en is added to front-vowel words
Derived terms[edit]
Hungarian verbs suffixed with -en

Etymology 4[edit]

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

Suffix[edit]

-en

  2. (personal suffix, chiefly dialectal or archaic) Indefinite third-person singular suffix (currently only in the imperative mood as part of -jen, formerly also occurring in the indicative).
    nincsen (“he/she/it isn't, there is none of it”)
    van/lenni (“to be”) → legyen (“he/she/it should be, there should be”)
    kér (“to ask/request”) → kérjen (“he/she/it should ask for some[thing]”)
    megy (“to go”) → megyen (“he/she/it goes, is going”) (in the standard language: megy)
    vesz (“to take/grab”) → veszen (“he/she/it takes/grabs”) (in the standard language: vesz)
    visz (“to take/carry”) → viszen (“he/she/it takes/carries”) (in the standard language: visz)
Usage notes[edit]
  • Harmonic variants:
    -on is added to back-vowel words
    -en is added to unrounded front-vowel words
    -ön is added to rounded front-vowel words

See also[edit]

Further reading[edit]

Japanese[edit]

Romanization[edit]

-en

  1. Rōmaji transcription of えん

Low German[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Middle Low German -inge, from Old Saxon -unga, from Proto-Germanic *-ingō, *-ungō. Cognate with Dutch -ing, Swedish -ning, German -ung, English -ing.

Pronunciation[edit]

Suffix[edit]

-en f

  1. forms nouns from verbs (called gerunds) or other nouns, usually describing either an event in which an action is carried out, or the result of that action; the equivalent of English -ing
    ‎bedüden (“to mean”) + ‎-en → ‎de Bedüden (“the meaning”)
    ‎Huus (“house”) + ‎-en → ‎de Hüsen (“the dwelling”)
Derived terms[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

From Middle Low German -en, a blending of Old Saxon infinitives -an, -ian and -on, from Proto-Germanic *-aną.

Suffix[edit]

-en

  1. Used to form the infinitive of verbs.
Alternative forms[edit]

Luxembourgish[edit]

Etymology[edit]

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

Pronunciation[edit]

Suffix[edit]

-en

  1. Used for some nouns to form plural forms.
  2. Used to show the infinitive form of verbs.
  3. A suffix which is used to create adjectives that refer to materials

Usage notes[edit]

The suffix -en, like any ending that involves either -n or -nn, is subject to the Eifeler Regel. For example, Versioune weisen.

Middle Dutch[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

A merger of various infinitive suffixes:

Suffix[edit]

-en

  1. The ending of the infinitive form of verbs, used as a suffix to form new verbs as well.
Descendants[edit]
  • Dutch: -en

Etymology 2[edit]

From the Old Dutch [Term?] strong past participle ending -an, from Proto-Germanic *-anaz.

Suffix[edit]

-en

  1. The ending of the past participle of strong verbs.
Descendants[edit]

Etymology 3[edit]

From various first and third-person plural forms of Germanic verbs.

Suffix[edit]

-en

  1. The ending of the first- and third-person plural forms of verbs.
Descendants[edit]

Etymology 4[edit]

From Old Dutch *-īn, from Proto-Germanic *-īnaz.

Suffix[edit]

-en

  1. Alternative form of -in

Middle English[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Old Norse -inn, past participle ending of strong verbs, from Proto-Norse -ᛁᚾᚨᛉ (*-inaz), from Proto-Germanic *-inaz, *-anaz (past participle ending of strong verbs). Replaced the native past participle ending of strong verbs (from Old English -en) in some words, which had weakened to -e or disappeared.

Alternative forms[edit]

Suffix[edit]

-en

  2. Denotes the past participle form when attached to a strong verb.
Usage notes[edit]

In many cases y- and -en are added together as a circumfix.

The full -en was better-preserved in the northern dialects, whereas in many cases the southern dialects shortened the affix to -n.

Derived terms[edit]
Middle English terms suffixed with -en (participial)
Descendants[edit]
References[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

From Old English -an.

Alternative forms[edit]

Suffix[edit]

-en

  2. Denotes the infinitive when attached to verbs.
Derived terms[edit]
Middle English terms suffixed with -en (infinitival)
References[edit]

Etymology 3[edit]

From Old English -on, -en.

Alternative forms[edit]

Suffix[edit]

-en

  1. Denotes the past indicative plural form of verbs.
  2. Denotes the present and past subjunctive plural form of verbs.
  3. Denotes the present indicative plural form of certain verbs.
Usage notes[edit]

This suffix was increasingly reduced to -e.

The use of this suffix as present indicative plural was common in the Midland area, replacing -eth, -eþ.

Derived terms[edit]
Middle English terms suffixed with -en (verb plural)
Descendants[edit]
References[edit]

Etymology 4[edit]

From Old English -an, a plural and oblique case marker.

Alternative forms[edit]

Suffix[edit]

-en

  2. Denotes the plural form of certain nouns.
  3. Denotes the oblique cases of certain nouns.
  4. Denotes the oblique cases and plural forms of weak adjectives.
Usage notes[edit]

This suffix as a plural marker is most heavily used in early Middle English, and is generally favoured in southern dialects, whereas northern dialects largely supplanted it with -es early.

Derived terms[edit]
Middle English terms suffixed with -en (noun plural)
Descendants[edit]
References[edit]

Etymology 5[edit]

From Old English -um.

Suffix[edit]

-en

  1. Denotes the dative singular and plural of strong adjectives.
References[edit]

Etymology 6[edit]

From Old English -en (“characteristic of; made of”), from Proto-Germanic *-īnaz.

Alternative forms[edit]

Suffix[edit]

-en

  1. Attached to a noun to form an adjective describing something as characteristic of, like, or pertaining to that noun.
  3. Attached to a noun that denotes a material to form an adjective describing something as made of that material.
Usage notes[edit]

The affixion of -en is sometimes accompanied by a mutation in the root vowel.

Derived terms[edit]
Adjectives formed with -en denoting materials
Descendants[edit]
References[edit]

Etymology 7[edit]

From Old English -en.

Suffix[edit]

-en

  2. Denotes a diminutive form of a noun.
Derived terms[edit]
Middle English terms suffixed with -en (diminutive)
Descendants[edit]

Etymology 8[edit]

From Old English -en.

Suffix[edit]

-en

  2. Denotes a female form of a small, fixed number of nouns.
Derived terms[edit]
Middle English terms suffixed with -en (feminine)
References[edit]

Etymology 9[edit]

From Old English -nian, from Proto-Germanic *-inōną.

Suffix[edit]

-en

  1. Alternative form of -enen.

Norwegian Bokmål[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Ancient Greek -ηνή (-ēnḗ), feminine form of -ηνός (-ēnós, added to place name to form an adjective), from -νός (-nós), alternative form of -νος (-nos), from Proto-Indo-European *-nós (creates verbal adjectives from roots).

Pronunciation[edit]

Suffix[edit]

-en (definite singular neuter -enet, definite singular masculine -enen, indefinite plural -en or -ener, definite plural -enene or -ena)

  2. (organic chemistry) Used to form nouns denoting alkynes; -ene
    acetylen, benzen ― acetylene, benzene
  4. (organic chemistry) Used to form nouns denoting alkenes; -ene
    etylen, propylen ― ethylene, propylene

References[edit]

  • “-en” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).

Anagrams[edit]

Old English[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

Inherited from Proto-West Germanic *-īn, from Proto-Germanic *-īną.

Suffix[edit]

-en

  1. (causes i-mutation) used to create diminutive neuter nouns
    ‎mæġþ (“girl, woman”) + ‎-en → ‎mæġden (“little girl”)
    ‎cocc (“cock, fowl”) + ‎-en → ‎ċycen, ċicen (“chick”)
    ‎broþ (“broth, brewing”) + ‎-en → ‎bryþen (“brewing, drink”)
Declension[edit]
Neuter
Declension of -en
Case Singular Plural
nominative -en -enu
accusative -en -enu
genitive -enes -ena
dative -ene -enum

Etymology 2[edit]

Inherited from Proto-West Germanic *-ini, from Proto-Germanic *-inī.

Alternative forms[edit]

Suffix[edit]

-en

  2. (often causes i-mutation) used to create feminine nouns from other nouns
    ‎god (“(male) god”) + ‎-en → ‎gyden (“goddess”) (with i-mutation)
    ‎þēow (“(male) servant”) + ‎-en → ‎þēowen (“female servant”) (without i-mutation)
Declension[edit]
Feminine
Declension of -en (strong ō-stem)
Case Singular Plural
nominative -en -enna, -enne
accusative -enne -enna, -enne
genitive -enne -enna
dative -enne -ennum
Derived terms[edit]
Old English terms suffixed with -en (feminine)

Etymology 3[edit]

Inherited from Proto-West Germanic *-īn, from Proto-Germanic *-īnaz.

Suffix[edit]

-en

  1. (causes i-mutation) adjectival suffix meaning "material made of, consisting of”, also sometimes “characteristic of”.
    ‎gold (“gold”) + ‎-en → ‎gylden (“golden”)
    ‎ātor (“poison”) + ‎-en → ‎ǣtren (“venomous, poisonous”)
    ‎stān (“stone”) + ‎-en → ‎stǣnen (“stonen”)
    ‎āc (“oak”) + ‎-en → ‎ǣcen (“oaken”)
    ‎trēow (“tree”) + ‎-en → ‎trēowen (“wooden”)
    ‎līn (“flax”) + ‎-en → ‎līnen (“linen”)
    ‎sǣ (“sea”) + ‎-en → ‎sǣn (“marine”)
    ‎fæder (“father”) + ‎-en → ‎fæderen (“paternal”)
Declension[edit]
Declension of -en — Strong
Singular Masculine Feminine Neuter
Nominative -en -enu, -nu, -eno, -no -en
Accusative -enne -ene, -ne -en
Genitive -enes, -nes -enre -enes, -nes
Dative -enum, -num -enre -enum, -num
Instrumental -ene, -ne -enre -ene, -ne
Plural Masculine Feminine Neuter
Nominative -ene, -ne -ena, -na, -ene, -ne -enu, -nu, -eno, -no
Accusative -ene, -ne -ena, -na, -ene, -ne -enu, -nu, -eno, -no
Genitive -enra -enra -enra
Dative -enum, -num -enum, -num -enum, -num
Instrumental -enum, -num -enum, -num -enum, -num
Declension of -en — Weak
Singular Masculine Feminine Neuter
Nominative -ena, -na -ene, -ne -ene, -ne
Accusative -enan, -nan -enan, -nan -ene, -ne
Genitive -enan, -nan -enan, -nan -enan, -nan
Dative -enan, -nan -enan, -nan -enan, -nan
Instrumental -enan, -nan -enan, -nan -enan, -nan
Plural Masculine Feminine Neuter
Nominative -enan, -nan -enan, -nan -enan, -nan
Accusative -enan, -nan -enan, -nan -enan, -nan
Genitive -enra, -enena, -nena -enra, -enena, -nena -enra, -enena, -nena
Dative -enum, -num -enum, -num -enum, -num
Instrumental -enum, -num -enum, -num -enum, -num
Descendants[edit]

Etymology 4[edit]

Inherited from Proto-West Germanic *-an, from Proto-Germanic *-anaz.

Suffix[edit]

-en

  1. (verbal suffix) past participle ending of strong verbs
    ġecumen ― come
    ġecorfen ― carved
    ġeswōgen ― swooned

Etymology 5[edit]

Proto-Germanic *-an, from Proto-Germanic *-an-.

Suffix[edit]

-en

  1. (adjective suffix) meaning belonging to or characterised by
    ‎tungol (“star”) + ‎-en → ‎tunglen (“of the stars, sidereal, starry”)
    ‎fæder (“father”) + ‎-en → ‎fæderen (“paternal, of a father”)
    ‎hund (“dog, hound”) + ‎-en → ‎hunden (“canine”)

Etymology 6[edit]

Inherited from Proto-Germanic *-īni, from Proto-Germanic *-īniz. Sometimes with geminate -nn-, probably due to confusion with the feminine suffix from *-inī.

Suffix[edit]

-en

  1. (causes i-mutation) forms nouns from class 1 weak verbs
    ‎byrgan (“to bury”) + ‎-en → ‎byrgen (“burying, grave”)
    ‎sellan (“to give, grant”) + ‎-en → ‎selen (“giving, gift”)
    ‎þicgan (“to take, accept”) + ‎-en → ‎þigen (“taking”) (inflected as strong and weak)

Romani[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

  • -ěn (International Standard)

Suffix[edit]

-en

  1. Forms the accusative plural of oikoclitic animate nouns
    ‎rrom (“Romani man”) + ‎-en → ‎rromen
    ‎daj (“mother”) + ‎-en → ‎dajen

Derived terms[edit]

Scots[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Middle English -en, from Old English -en (“characteristic of; made of”).

Suffix[edit]

-en

  1. Attached to a noun to form an adjective describing something as characteristic of, like, or pertaining to that noun.
  3. Attached to a noun that denotes a material to form an adjective describing something as made of that material.

Derived terms[edit]

Slovene[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Proto-Slavic *-ьnъ.

Pronunciation[edit]

Suffix[edit]

-ən

  1. Suffix appended to words to create an adjective.

Derived terms[edit]

Slovene terms suffixed with -en

Spanish[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Latin -ent and -unt.

Suffix[edit]

-en

  1. Suffix indicating the third-person plural present indicative of -er and -ir verbs.
  2. Suffix indicating the third-person plural present subjunctive of -ar verbs.
  3. Suffix indicating the third-person plural imperative of -ar verbs.

See also[edit]

Swedish[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Old Norse -inn, -in, from Proto-Germanic *jainaz, from Proto-Indo-European *i-. (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium. Particularly: “This certainly has multiple etymologies.”)

Suffix[edit]

-en

  1. Suffix for definite form singular of common gender nouns which end in a consonant, e.g. ‎fisk (“fish”) + ‎-en → ‎fisken (“the fish”); see also -n.
  2. Suffix for definite form plural of neuter nouns ending with consonant, e.g. ‎träd (“tree”) + ‎-en → ‎träden (“the trees”).
  3. Suffix for indefinite form plural of only the neuter noun huvud (“head”), e.g. ‎huvud (“head”) + ‎-en → ‎huvuden (“heads”).
  4. Suffix for the past participle of verbs belonging to the fourth (strong) declension, e.g. ‎sjunga (“sing”) + ‎-en → ‎sjungen (“sung”), ‎skjuta (“shoot”) + ‎-en → ‎skjuten (“shot”).
  5. Suffix which converts a few adjectives into adverbs, e.g. ‎möjlig (“possible”) + ‎-en → ‎möjligen (“possibly”).

Anagrams[edit]

Welsh[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Middle Welsh -en, from Old Welsh -en, from Proto-Brythonic *-enn. Cognate with Cornish -en, Breton -enn.

Suffix[edit]

-en f (masculine -yn)

  1. Used to form the singulative of certain words.
    ‎llygod (“mice”) + ‎-en → ‎llygoden (“mouse”)
    ‎sêr (“stars”) + ‎-en → ‎seren (“star”)
    ‎coed (“trees, wood”) + ‎-en → ‎coeden (“tree”)
  2. Used to form certain singular words.
    llysywen (“eel”)
    matsien (“match”)
    taten (“potato”)
  3. diminutive suffix
    ‎pêl (“ball”) + ‎-en → ‎pelen (“little ball, pellet”)
    ‎lloer (“moon”) + ‎-en → ‎lloeren (“satellite”)
    ‎gwraig (“woman, wife”) + ‎-en → ‎gwreigen (“little woman, little wife”)
  4. female or feminine person or creature
    ‎coch (“red”) + ‎-en → ‎cochen (“(female) redhead”)
    ‎clebr (“gossip, chatter”) + ‎-en → ‎clebren (“(female) gossip”)
    ‎gwlith (“dew”) + ‎-en → ‎gwlithen (“slug”)
  5. object, item, thing
    ‎cwyr (“wax”) + ‎-en → ‎cwyren (“cake or tablet of wax”)
    ‎calch (“lime, chalk”) + ‎-en → ‎calchen (“limestone”)
    ‎awyr (“sky”) + ‎-en → ‎awyren (“aeroplane”)
    ‎crom (“curved”) + ‎-en → ‎cromen (“dome”)

Etymology 2[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Suffix[edit]

-en

  1. Used to form plural nouns.
    ‎ych (“ox”) + ‎-en → ‎ychen (“oxen”)
    Synonyms: -aid, -aint, -au, -ed, -edd, -i, -iadau, -iaid, -iau, -ion, -od, -oedd, -on, -ydd, -yr, -ys

Etymology 3[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Suffix[edit]

-en

  1. (colloquial) verb suffix for the first-person plural conditional
  2. (colloquial) verb suffix for the third-person plural conditional
Derived terms[edit]
Welsh terms suffixed with -en

References[edit]

R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “-en”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies

Yucatec Maya[edit]

Suffix[edit]

-en

  1. Suffix indicating the first-person singular present copular; added to nouns and adjectives
    Koolnáalen. ― I am a farmer.
    Teen na'en. ― I am a mother.
    Na'ajen. ― I am thirsty.

Suffix[edit]

-en

  1. Suffix indicating the second-person plural imperative
    Ooken! ― Enter!
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