-en

See also: Appendix:Variations of "en"

English

Pronunciation

• (usually) IPA^(key): /ən/
• (after /t/, /d/ also) IPA^(key): /n̩/
• 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 outside of slang.

Etymology 1

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 *-īna- (*-īna-), from Proto-Germanic *-īnaz (compare Etymology 4, below). 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.

Suffix

-en

1. Denotes the past participle form when attached to a verb.

   As in take, taken; forgive, forgiven; prove, proven

2. Denotes a quasi-past participle or participle-like adjective when attached to a noun or verb.

   As in forken (“forked”); paven (“paved”); bare-footen (“bare-footed”), enslaven (“enslaved”)

Usage notes

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

past participle

• awoken
• been
• boughten
• broken
• chosen
• fallen

• forgiven
• forgotten
• forsaken
• given
• gotten
• mistaken

• rotten
• seen
• shaken
• stolen
• taken
• woken up

Etymology 2

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

-en

1. Can be used to denote the plural form of a small number of English words, the majority of whose etymology goes back to the n-stem (i.e. weak noun) declension of Germanic languages.

   Examples: aurochs, aurochsen; bee, been; brother, brethren; cheese, cheesen; child, children; cow, kine; knee, kneen; ey, eyren; eye, eyen; hose, hosen; house, housen; ox, oxen; pease, peasen; shoe, shoon; sister, sistren; tree, treen

2. (dialectal or nonstandard, rare) Used to form the plural of nouns
   • 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.

   • 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

Seldom productive, outside of occasional humorous use, particularly in computer hacker subculture. Notable examples are boxen, Unixen, VAXen.

Derived terms

• See also: Category:English plurals ending in "-en"

plural

• aurochsen
• brethren

• children
• eyen

• kine
• oxen

• shoon
• sistren

Etymology 3

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

Suffix

-en

1. 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.

Usage notes

• 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

► English verbs suffixed with -en

attached to certain adjectives

• awaken
• blacken
• blonden
• bolden
• brighten
• broaden
• colden
• dampen
• darken
• deaden
• deafen
• deepen
• dullen
• fasten
• fatten

• flatten
• freshen
• gilden
• gladden
• harden
• heaten
• hotten
• laten
• lessen
• lighten
• liven
• loosen
• madden
• moisten
• neshen

• nicen
• olden
• pinken
• quicken
• quieten
• redden
• ripen
• roughen
• sadden
• safen
• sharpen
• shorten
• sicken
• sleeken

• soften
• starken
• stiffen
• stouten
• straighten
• sweeten
• thicken
• tighten
• toughen
• weaken
• wetten
• whiten
• widen
• worsen

suffix to nouns

• christen
• easen
• golden
• hasten

• hearten
• heighten
• lengthen
• salten

• streaken
• strengthen
• truthen

Translations

to make [adjective], to cause to be [adjective]

• Danish: -gøre (da)

• Esperanto: -igi

Etymology 4

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

• -in

Suffix

-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: wood, wooden; gold, golden; brass, brazen

   Obsolete examples: bronze, bronzen; silver, silvern

   Orphan examples: linen (flax was once called lin).

Derived terms

► English adjectives suffixed with -en

attached to certain nouns

• aldern
• ashen (referring to the wood of the tree)
• aspen
• attern
• beechen
• birchen
• brazen
• bricken
• bronzen
• cedarn

• clayen
• coppern
• earthen
• elmen
• glassen
• glazen
• golden
• leaden
• leathern
• linen

• oaken
• papern
• rocken
• silken
• silvern
• slaten
• strawen
• wooden
• woolen, woollen
• yewen

Etymology 5

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

Suffix

-en

1. Used to form the diminutives of certain nouns.

   chicken

   maiden

   kitten

See also

• -ock
• -ling

Etymology 6

From Middle English -en, a blending of Old English infinitives -an and -n, from Proto-Germanic *-aną.

Suffix

-en

1. (obsolete) Used to form the infinitive of verbs.
   • 1592, William Shakespeare, Richard III:

     The Sonne compell'd, beene Butcher to the Sire...

   • 1599, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene:

     As gentle Shepheard in sweete euen-tide, When ruddy Phoebus gins to welke in west, High on an hill, his flocke to vewen wide […]

   • c. 1608, William Shakespeare, Pericles, Prince of Tyre, II

     From others' labours; for though he strive

     To killen bad, keep good alive;

   • 1844, William Barnes, “Bringen Wonne Gwäin O' Zundays”, in Poems of Rural Life in the Dorset Dialect.
2. (obsolete) Used to form the plural present tense of verbs.
   • 1579, Edmund Spenser, The Shepheardes Calender

     And when the shining sunne laugheth once,

     You deemen the spring is come attonce.

     Tho gynne you, fond flyes, the cold to scorne,

     And, crowing in pypes made of greene corne,

     You thinken to be lords of the yeare.

   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, Book I, Canto IV:

     So forth they marchen in this goodly sort,

     To take the solace of the open aire,

   • c. 1590-97, William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream, II, i

     And then the whole quire hold their hips and laugh,

     And waxen in their mirth and neeze and swear

     A merrier hour was never wasted there.

   • c. 1608, William Shakespeare, Pericles, Prince of Tyre, II

     All perishen of man, of pelf,

     Ne aught escapen but himself;

Usage notes

• 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 learen (“to teach”) blended with learnen (“to learn”), which resulted in learn having a (dialectal) double meaning.

See also

► English words suffixed with -en

Anagrams

• -ne-, NE, Ne., ne, né, nê

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Basque

Suffix

-en

1. used to form the superlative of adjectives

   handi (“big”) + ‎-en → ‎handien (“biggest”)

   zahar (“old”) + ‎-en → ‎zaharren (“oldest”)

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Chuukese

Suffix

-en

1. of

Synonyms

• -un

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Danish

Suffix

-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

• 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

► Danish words suffixed with -en

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Dutch

Etymology 1

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

-en

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

Inflection

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
verbal noun	—
	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
verbal noun	—
	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

► Dutch words suffixed with -en (denominative)

Etymology 2

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

Suffix

-en

2. Forms adjectives that indicate the substance from which something is made.

Inflection

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

► Dutch words suffixed with -en (substance)

Etymology 3

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

• The strong infinitive -an, from Proto-Germanic *-aną.
• The weak class 1 infinitive -en, -ien, from Proto-Germanic *-janą, *-ijaną.
• The weak class 2 infinitive -on, from Proto-Germanic *-ōną.

Suffix

-en

1. Ending of the infinitive form of verbs.

Etymology 4

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

Suffix

-en

1. The ending of the past participle of strong verbs. This can also function as an adjective.

Inflection

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

From various case forms of the Germanic weak nominal inflection.

Suffix

-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

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

Suffix

-en

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

Etymology 7

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

Suffix

-en

1. A suffix present on certain adverbs.

   voor + ‎-en → ‎van voren (“from the front”)

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Emilian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /en/

Pronoun

-en (adverbial)

1. (enclitic, after a consonant) Alternative form of in

   Mānjen un pōk! ― Eat some of it! (imperative, singular)

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Finnish

Suffix

-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

• (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

• -ne, ne

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German

Etymology 1

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

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

Pronunciation

• 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

-en

1. A suffix of all verbs in their infinitive form.

   Accordingly, the suffix is also applied to verbs borrowed from other languages.

   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

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

Alternative forms

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

Pronunciation

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

Suffix

-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

• (plural suffix): -e, -er, -s

Etymology 3

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

Alternative forms

• -n (after -er, -el)
• -ern

Pronunciation

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

Suffix

-en

1. A suffix which is used to create adjectives that most often refer to materials

   Gold (“gold”, noun) + ‎-en → ‎golden (“gold, golden”, adjective)

Etymology 4

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈeːn/

Suffix

-en

1. (chemistry) -ene (alkene suffix)

Derived terms

► German words suffixed with -en

Category German verbs suffixed with -en not found

► German adjectives suffixed with -en

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Hungarian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ɛn]

Suffix

-en

1. (adverbial suffix) Added to an adjective or numeral to create an adverb.

   szép (“beautiful”) → szépen (“beautifully”)

   hét (“seven”) → Heten mentünk moziba. - Seven of us went to the cinema.

   kettő (“two”) → Ketten vannak a szobában. - There are two people in the room.

2. (case suffix) on. Used to form the superessive case.

   szék (“chair”) → széken (“on the chair”)

3. (verb suffix) 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 recoil, to get afraid instantly”)

Usage notes

• (adverbial suffix): See under -n

   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

• (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

• (verb suffix): See under -an

Derived terms

► Hungarian adverbs suffixed with -en

► Hungarian verbs suffixed with -en

See also

• Category:Hungarian words taking -n/-on/-en/-ön
• Category:Hungarian noun forms
• Appendix:Hungarian suffixes

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Japanese

Romanization

-en

1. Rōmaji transcription of えん

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Low German

Etymology 1

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

• IPA^(key): /ən/

Suffix

-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

Terms derived from -en

• Aflösen
• Afstimmen
• Anwiesen
• Bedüden
• Bereken
• Beropen
• Beschrieven
• Besinnen
• Besluten
• Bewegen
• Düngen
• Forschen

• Füern
• Gliekstellen
• Globaliseren
• Höpen
• Hüsen
• Levern
• Menen
• Nähren
• Opmuntern
• Regeren
• Reken
• Stiften

• Stärken
• Tehren
• Utdüden
• Uttehren
• Utwiesen
• Verafscheden
• Verfaten
• Verklappen
• Verköhlen
• Verornen
• Verplichten
• Versammeln

• Versöken
• Vertellen
• Verwanneln
• Verwohren
• Verwunnern
• Wickeln
• Överdüngen
• Ümwanneln
• Ümweltbelasten
• Ünnerscheden
• Ünnerstütten

Etymology 2

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

Suffix

-en

1. Used to form the infinitive of verbs.

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Luxembourgish

Suffix

-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

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

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Middle Dutch

Etymology 1

A merger of various infinitive suffixes:

• The strong infinitive Old Dutch -an, from Proto-Germanic *-aną.
• The weak class 1 infinitive Old Dutch -en, -ien, from Proto-Germanic *-janą, *-ijaną.
• The weak class 2 infinitive Old Dutch -on, from Proto-Germanic *-ōną.

Suffix

-en

1. The ending of the infinitive form of verbs, used as a suffix to form new verbs as well.

Descendants

• Dutch: -en

Etymology 2

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

Suffix

-en

1. The ending of the past participle of strong verbs.

Descendants

• Dutch: -en

Etymology 3

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

Suffix

-en

1. The ending of the first- and third-person plural forms of verbs.

Descendants

• Dutch: -en

Etymology 4

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

Suffix

-en

1. Alternative form of -in

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Middle English

Alternative forms

• -n, -e

Etymology 1

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

Suffix

-en

1. Denotes the past participle form when attached to a strong verb.

Usage notes

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.

Descendants

• English: -en

References

• “-en, suf.(3)” in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 24 April 2018.

Alternative forms

• -n, -e

Etymology 2

From Old English -an.

Suffix

-en

1. Denotes the infinitive when attached to verbs.

References

• “-en, suf.(3)” in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 24 April 2018.

Alternative forms

• -e

Etymology 3

From Old English -on, -en.

Suffix

-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

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.

Descendants

• English: -en

References

• “-en, suf.(7)” in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 24 April 2018.

Alternative forms

• -n

Etymology 4

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

Suffix

-en

1. Denotes the plural form of certain nouns.
2. Denotes the oblique cases of certain nouns.
3. Denotes the oblique cases and plural forms of weak adjectives.

Usage notes

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.

Descendants

• English: -en

References

• “-en, suf.(5)” in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 24 April 2018.
• “-en, suf.(6)” in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 24 April 2018.

Etymology 5

From Old English -um.

Suffix

-en

1. Denotes the dative singular and plural of strong adjectives.

References

• “-en, suf.(6)” in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 24 April 2018.

Alternative forms

• -ene, -yn, -in, -on, -un, -n

Etymology 6

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

Suffix

-en

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

Usage notes

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

Derived terms

Adjectives formed with -en denoting materials

• almaunden
• aspen
• asshen
• attern
• bechen
• birchen
• brasen

• cleyen
• copren
• elmen
• erden
• erthen
• gilden

• glasen
• golden
• haselen
• holinen
• leden
• letheren

• linden
• lynnen
• mapelyn
• oken
• rochen
• selken

• stenen
• stonen
• strawen
• sylveren
• treen
• wollen

Descendants

• English: -en

References

• “-en, suf.(2)” in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 24 April 2018.

Etymology 7

From Old English -en.

Suffix

-en

1. Denotes a diminutive form of a noun.

Descendants

• English: -en

Etymology 8

From Old English -en.

Suffix

-en

1. Denotes a female form of a small, fixed number of nouns.

Derived terms

Female nouns formed with -en

• fixen

• mynchen

References

• “-en, suf.(1)” in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 24 April 2018.

Etymology 9

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

Suffix

-en

1. Alternative form of -enen.

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Old English

Etymology 1

From Proto-Germanic *-īną

Suffix

-en n

1. (causes i-mutation) used to create diminutive neuter nouns

   mæġþ (“girl, woman”) + ‎-en → ‎mæġden (“little girl”)

   cocc (“cock, fowl”) + ‎-en → ‎cycen, cicen (“chick”)

Declension

Neuter

Declension of -en

Case	Singular	Plural
nominative	-en	-ennu
accusative	-en	-ennu
genitive	-ennes/-enu	-enna
dative	-enne	-ennum

Etymology 2

From Proto-Germanic *-njō, *-injō, *-unjō

Alternative forms

• -in

Suffix

-en f

1. (often causes i-mutation) used to create feminine nouns from other nouns

   god (“(male) god”) + ‎-en → ‎gyden (“goddess”) (with i-muation)

   þēow (“(male) servant”) + ‎-en → ‎þēowen (“female servant”) (without i-mutation)

Declension

Feminine

Declension of -en (strong ō-stem)

Case	Singular	Plural
nominative	-en	-enna, -enne
accusative	-enne	-enna, -enne
genitive	-enne	-enna
dative	-enne	-ennum

Etymology 3

From Proto-Germanic *-īnaz

Suffix

-en

1. (causes i-mutation) adjectival suffix meaning "material made of, consisting of"

   gold (“gold”) + ‎-en → ‎gylden (“golden”)

   ātor (“poison”) + ‎-en → ‎ǣtren (“venomous, poisonous”)

Descendants

• Middle English: -en
  • Scots: -en, -in
  • English: -en

Etymology 4

From Proto-Germanic *-anaz

Suffix

-en

1. (verbal suffix) past participle ending of strong verbs

   ġecumen (“come”)

   ġecorfen (“carved”)

Etymology 5

From Proto-Germanic *-an-

Suffix

-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

From Proto-Germanic *-īniz. Sometimes with geminate -nn-, probably due to confusion with the feminine suffix from *-injō.

Suffix

-en f

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)

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Spanish

Etymology

From Latin -ent and -unt

Suffix

-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

• -an

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Swedish

Etymology

From Old Norse -inn, -in, from Proto-Germanic *jainaz, from Proto-Indo-European *i-.

Suffix

-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”).

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Welsh

Etymology

From Proto-Brythonic *-enn.

Pronunciation

• (North Wales) (standard) (colloquial) IPA^(key): /ɛn/
  • (North Wales) (colloquial) IPA^(key): /an/
• (South Wales) IPA^(key): /ɛn/

Suffix

-en f (masculine -yn)

1. Used to form feminine singulative forms of certain words

   cylion (“gnats”) + ‎-en → ‎cylionen (“a gnat”)