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-ien

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: ien and iëŋ

Breton

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Etymology

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From Old Breton -ion, -on, Proto-Brythonic *-onos, *-onā. Cognate to Welsh -ion, Cornish -yon.

Suffix

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-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

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French

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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

    Pronunciation

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    • IPA(key): /jɛ̃/
    • Audio:(file)

    Suffix

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    -ien m (plural -iens, feminine -ienne)

    1. forms nouns denoting where something or someone is from; -ian
      Paris + ‎-ien → ‎Parisien (a Parisian)
      Californie + ‎-ien → ‎Californien (a Californian)

    Suffix

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    -ien (feminine -ienne, masculine plural -iens, feminine plural -iennes)

    1. forms adjectives indicating relation to; -ian
      Paris + ‎-ien → ‎parisien (Parisian)
      Californie + ‎-ien → ‎californien (Californian)
      Vadim + ‎-ien → ‎vadimien (of Roger Vadim Plemiannikov, French screenwriter, film director and producer)

    Usage notes

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    When the name's last syllable contains "e" or "è" followed by a single consonant, that vowel is normally raised to "é": e.g. barrésien, beethovénien, mussétien, turnérien, wagnérien, etc.

    Derived terms

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    German

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    Pronunciation

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    Etymology 1

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    From Middle High German -ie, -je, from Latin -ia (feminine singular). Nouns with this Latinate suffix were originally strong (i.e. invariable) feminines, but inflected forms in -ien arose when the distinction between strong and weak feminines collapsed in later Middle High German. These were then treated by analogy with local names like Böhmen, Franken, Sachsen etc. (all originally dative plural of a tribe name).

    Suffix

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    -ien n

    1. Used to form country names; -ia
      Tscheche (Czech person) + ‎-ien → ‎Tschechien (Czechia)
      Jordan (Jordan, river) + ‎-ien → ‎Jordanien (Jordan, country)

    Etymology 2

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    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

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    -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
      Konzil + ‎-ien → ‎Konzilien
    Usage notes
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    • 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, Konzile).

    Middle English

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    Etymology 1

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    Borrowed from Old French -ien, from Latin -iānus.

    Alternative forms

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    Pronunciation

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    • IPA(key): /-iˈɛːn/, /-i.ɛn/, /-i.ən/, /-jɛn/, /-jən/

    Suffix

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    -ien

    1. Forms nouns and adjectives denoting origin, association, or residence; -ian.
    Usage notes
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    • Before this ending, /k/ becomes /s/; for instance, musike /miu̯ˈziːk(ə)/ + -ien becomes musicien /miu̯ˌzisiˈɛːn/.
    Derived terms
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    Descendants
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    • English: -ian
    • Scots: -ian
    References
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    Etymology 2

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    A conflation of two originally distinct suffixes:

    Additionally, some verbs borrowed from Old Norse and Old French or formed anew have adopted this suffix.

    Alternative forms

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    Pronunciation

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    • IPA(key): /-iən/, /-jən/
    • IPA(key): /-iː(ə)/, /-jə/ (with loss of final /n/)

    Suffix

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    -ien

    1. (after Early Middle English, Kent, Southern or West Midlands) Denotes the infinitive when attached to verbs.
    Usage notes
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    • This suffix was initially restricted to those verbs where it was etymologically justified (see above), but had come to be applied indiscriminately by the Late Middle English period where it was not replaced by -en.
    Derived terms
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    Descendants
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    • English: -y, -ee (dialectal, West Country)
    References
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    Middle French

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    Etymology

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      From Old French -ien, from Latin -iānus.

      Suffix

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      -ien (feminine equivalent -ienne)

      1. -ian
        patricien
        patrician

      Derived terms

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      Descendants

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      Old French

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      Examples

      Surgien
      Citeien

      Etymology

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        From Latin -iānus, from -ānus.

        Suffix

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        -ien (feminine equivalent -iene or -ienne)

        1. -ian

        Derived terms

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        Descendants

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